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Israeli authorities opened two tenders in October for 1,080 settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and its surroundings, the Palestinian Apartheid (Shame) Wall and Jewish Settlements Resistance Council, which is affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization, announced.

The tenders cover 730 homes in the Pisgat Zeev settlement north of the city and 350 homes in Maale Adumim to the east, with bid deadlines set for late December.

What the two tenders cover

The first tender, published on October 7, covers 350 housing units for the elderly in the Maale Adumim settlement, along with space for commercial and business use. The project had already been put out to tender earlier this year but was withdrawn after no bids were submitted. The council said the renewed tender amounts to marketing the same project again. The deadline for offers is December 30.

The second tender covers the construction of 730 units east of the Pisgat Zeev settlement. The project spans four plots totaling 27.5 dunams and includes housing for sale and long-term rental, as well as commercial, business and service areas. The deadline for this tender is December 28.

Council warns of wider impact

The council said the projects expand the footprint of settlements around Jerusalem, deepen Israeli control in the area and further narrow the geographic space available for Palestinians to grow. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in late June that during tenure Smotrich had led the establishment of 160 new outposts in the occupied West Bank and the recognition by Tel Aviv of more than 100 illegal settlements, claiming that land confiscation in the West Bank had visibly accelerated under the current government.

Settlement growth since 1967

The Kfar Etzion settlement in the southern West Bank is regarded as the first Jewish settlement, having been built shortly after Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Hundreds of settlement sites have been built across the West Bank since then, and the source counts 365 settlements on confiscated Palestinian land in the territory.

According to 2024 figures from the Israeli group Peace Now, about 3 million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, while the number of Israelis living on seized Palestinian land exceeds 500,000. Palestinian statistics put the number of Israelis at about 750,000, living in 141 settlements and 224 settlement outposts that are also considered illegal under Israeli law. Around 250,000 of them live in 15 settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

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

Key takeaways

• Two October tenders cover 1,080 settlement homes in Pisgat Zeev and Maale Adumim
• The Maale Adumim tender was withdrawn earlier this year after receiving no bids and has now been reopened
• Bid deadlines fall on December 28 and December 30
• Palestinian figures put the number of Israelis in West Bank settlements and outposts at about 750,000