(Tal Shalev, Zeena Saifi, Oren Liebermann – CNN) The Israeli government advanced an internationally condemned settlement plan in the occupied West Bank that could split the territory and “bury” the possibility of a two-state solution.
Israel’s Housing Ministry issued a notice inviting bids for the construction of more than 1,200 housing units in E1 near Jerusalem, which aims to create a continuous bloc of Jewish settlements from East Jerusalem to the West Bank. The settlement would divide the West Bank into north and south, making a contiguous Palestinian state impossible, while splitting East Jerusalem – viewed as the capital of such a state – from the rest of the territory.
The bids for construction are due one week before the Israeli elections at the end of October.
