Israel has cleared the final hurdle ahead of starting construction on an illegal a controversial settlement project near occupied East Jerusalem that critics say would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two.
A government tender seeking bids from developers has been published, paving the way for work on the E1 settlement project, according to official documents.
The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now first reported the tender.
Yoni Mizrahi, who heads the group’s settlement watch division, said initial construction work could begin within a month.
The E1 project is planned for an open area of land east of Jerusalem and has been under discussion for more than 20 years.
Previous Israeli governments froze the plan under pressure from the United States.
The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank to be illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace.
A controversial project
The E1 project is seen as particularly contentious because it would link settlements on the eastern edge of Jerusalem to deeper areas of the occupied West Bank, a move critics say would block the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right figure who oversees settlement policy, has long advocated for advancing the project.
"The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions," Smotrich said in August, when Israel granted final planning approval.
"Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea."
The tender, published on the website of Israel’s Land Authority, calls for proposals to build 3,401 housing units.
Peace Now said the tender’s publication "reflects an accelerated effort to advance construction in E1."
