Israel plans 1,000-unit expansion for occupied West Bank settlement: NGO

According to a report by an Israeli non-governmental organization, Israel has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

The "Peace Now" monitoring group cited the document on Sunday, stating that 974 new housing units are planned to be developed in the Efrat settlement near Jerusalem. The organization said that the project would increase the population of the Efrat settlement, located about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, by approximately 40%, and further impede the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

Settlement construction in the West Bank is driven by Israeli hardliners and supported by the Israeli government, but Palestinians and many in the international community consider it a major obstacle to peace. Hagit Ofran, head of settlement monitoring at "Peace Now," said that construction could begin as early as a year from now, after the contract signing and permit issuance procedures are completed.

Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. These settlements are illegal under international law. The Israeli human rights organization Ir Amim said in a statement on Monday that Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th triggered a wave of settlement expansion.

Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim, said: "At the same time, the Israeli government has stepped up its eviction operations against Palestinians. Since the beginning of 2025, Israeli authorities have demolished 27 buildings in East Jerusalem, including 18 residential units, in what appears to be a planned operation aimed at expelling Palestinians from their homes while expanding Israeli settlements."

Israel has already built more than 100 settlements in the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully developed communities that resemble small towns and suburbs with apartment buildings, shopping malls, and parks. More than 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, where approximately 3 million Palestinians reside. Settlers have Israeli citizenship, while Palestinians live under military rule, with the Palestinian Authority administering population centers.

Major human rights organizations have described this situation as apartheid, an accusation denied by the Israeli government, which considers the West Bank to be the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and opposes Palestinian statehood. Since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have surged, with an average of four incidents of settler violence occurring daily.