Israel opened two tenders for more than a thousand illegal settlement houses in East Jerusalem in October

In the statement made by the Council affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it was stated that the two tenders in question included 730 houses in the illegal "Pisgat Zeev" settlement in the north of Jerusalem and 350 houses in the "Maale Adumim" settlement in the east of the city.

In the statement, it was noted that the first tender, published on October 7, included 350 residences reserved for the elderly and commercial and business areas in the "Maale Adumim" settlement.

It was stated that the re-tendering of this project, which was previously put out to tender this year but was withdrawn due to no bids being submitted, means the re-marketing of the same project. It was reported that the deadline for the tender in question was December 30.

The other tender included the construction of 730 houses in the east of the illegal "Pisgat Zeev" settlement; It was reported that the project includes four lands with a total of 27.5 acres.

The project includes residences for sale and long-term rental, as well as commercial, business and service areas; It was stated that the deadline for the tender was 28 December.

The Council emphasized that these projects contribute to the expansion of the areas of illegal settlements in and around Jerusalem, further increasing Israel's domination in the region and narrowing the geographical area in which the Palestinians can expand.

In his statement in late June, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that during his term of office, he led the establishment of 160 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and the recognition of over 100 illegal settlements by Tel Aviv; He claimed that land grabbing in the West Bank had noticeably accelerated under the current government.

There are 365 illegal settlements established by usurping Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

The "Kefar Etzion" Jewish settlement in the south of the West Bank is considered the first Jewish settlement, as it was established immediately after Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Afterwards, hundreds of illegal settlements were built in the West Bank.

According to 2024 data of the Israeli non-governmental organization Peace Now movement, approximately 3 million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, while the Israeli population, which usurped Palestinian lands, has exceeded 500 thousand.

According to Palestinian statistics, there are approximately 750 thousand Israelis in the occupied West Bank in 141 illegal settlements and 224 illegal settlements established by Jewish groups and considered "illegal" according to Israeli law. Approximately 250 thousand of them live in 15 settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Jewish settlements established by Israel in the occupied territories and the transfer of its population there are considered illegal under international law.