Israel's housing ministry opened tenders for 1,234 settlement homes in the E1 corridor of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, advancing a project critics say would effectively bisect Palestinian territory. Bids close on 19 October, days before Israel's general election scheduled for 27 October.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the move, while the advocacy group Peace Now accused the government of trying to bury the two-state solution. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the idea of a Palestinian state was "being erased." The broader E1 plan envisions more than 3,400 homes on roughly 12 square kilometres between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement bloc.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed deep concern over the tender, and Germany, France, Italy, and the UK warned companies against involvement in E1 construction. The project threatens to disconnect dozens of Bedouin communities, including Khan al-Ahmar.