RAMALLAH, September 17, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation authorities have finalized the issuance of tenders for the full 3,401 settlement units planned under the "E1" settlement project. This follows the updating of a previous tender and the redistribution of the units across two separate tenders.
On September 7, the so-called "Israel Land Authority" published an update to Tender No. 460/2025, reducing the number of units included therein from 3,401 to 2,167. It set October 25 as the date for opening the tender to bidders and December 21, 2026, as the deadline for bid submissions.
In a statement issued this Thursday, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission clarified that these figures do not indicate a retreat from the project, but rather a division of the project into two complementary tenders.
The Commission explained that on August 18, occupation authorities opened Tender No. 186/2026 for the construction of 1,234 settlement units, with the deadline for bid submissions set for October 19. With the addition of the remaining tender for 2,167 units, all 3,401 units—which received final approval in August 2025—are now covered by implementation tenders.
The Commission noted that the original tender, published in December 2025, had grouped all 3,401 units into a single package. It added that the schedules for the two tenders coincide with the period leading up to the Israeli elections—slated for October 27—with the deadline for the first tender falling eight days before the election, while the second tender opens to bidders two days prior.
The Commission emphasized that opening the tenders does not signify the actual commencement of construction or render the project legally irreversible; several stages remain, including selecting winners, signing development and lease contracts, issuing permits, and executing infrastructure work.
It noted that transitioning from the plan-approval stage to offering all its units through competitive tenders represents a significant step toward implementation, bringing the project closer to creating physical facts on the ground.
According to the Commission, the danger of the "E1" project lies in its location between Jerusalem and the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement, as well as the consequences its implementation would have on Palestinian territorial contiguity between the northern and southern West Bank and on Jerusalem's connection to its Palestinian surroundings.
In a related context, data from the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission—based on official records from the so-called "Israel Land Authority"—indicate that since the beginning of the year and up to September 17, occupation authorities have issued 17 real estate tenders for West Bank settlements. These included nine tenders with a residential component comprising, according to announced figures, 3,524 units.
After excluding a cancelled tender for 342 units in the "Ariel" settlement—where the same units were subsequently re-offered in an alternative tender—the net, non-duplicated total stands at eight tenders covering 3,182 units. This total includes 350 units of sheltered housing in the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement and 194 units within a mixed-use project in "Ganei Modi'in."
The authority clarified that this figure does not include the "E1" tender (No. 460/2025) for 2,167 units, as it was originally published on December 10, 2025—despite the fact that its schedule was updated in 2026 and a date for opening bids was set for this coming October 25.
It added that if this tender is counted as one reactivated during 2026, the total number of units included in the tendering process rises to 5,349.
K.T
