Settlements in the territory, pushed by Israeli uncompromising, are seen as a great obstacle to peace.
Israel has issued a tender for the construction of almost 1,000 additional homes in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli NGO reported.
Reference to the document, the Peace Now Watchdog said Sunday that the development of 974 new housing units is planned in the Efrat settlement near Jerusalem. The Haining settlement is being driven by Israeli uncompromising, but is seen as a great obstacle to peace by the Palestinians and many internationally.
The project would expand the Population of the Efrat settlement, located about 12 km (7.5 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, in about 40 percent and further blocks the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem, La Paz now said.
Hagit Oph, who directs the group's liquidation monitoring, said the construction can begin after the hiring process and the issuance of permits, which could carry at least another year.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem East in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Settlements are illegal according to international law, and the Palestinians see them as a great obstacle to peace, a position with broad international support.
However, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, provided unprecedented support to Israeli settlements during his first term, including the expansion of the Givat Hamatos settlement, which divided parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians.
Trump is a republican, but Israel has also constantly expanded settlements during democratic administrations, which were more critical, but rarely took measures to stop them.
Israel has built more than 100 settlements in the West Bank, ranging from advanced hills to fully developed communities that resemble small cities and suburbs with apartments, shopping centers and parks.
More than 500,000 settlers live in occupied West Bank, which houses about three million Palestinians. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the Palestinians live under military domain with the Palestinian authority that manages population centers.
The main human rights groups have described the situation such as Apartheid, an accusation rejected by the Israeli government, which considers the West Bank as the historical and biblical heart of the Jewish people and opposes the Palestinian status.
The attacks of settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have increased since the beginning of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023, with an average of four violence incidents of settlers that occur daily.
