The Civil Administration has published a new tender for the construction of 974 new housing units in the Efrat settlement south of Bethlehem. The tender is for the establishment of a new neighborhood that expands the Efrat settlement by 644 dunams and will increase the number of residents by approximately 40%. The tender consists of two tenders, one for the construction of 694 residential units and the other for 280 units in assisted living for the elderly. The construction plan for the new neighborhood was approved only last year in 2024, and the Israel Land Authority has already had time to prepare and publish the tender for its construction.
For more information on the tender process.
It should be noted that the Efrat settlement blocks the development of the Bethlehem metropolis to the south, and if Israel seeks to annex it to Israel, it will cut off the entire southern West Bank, which depends on the connection to the northern Bank through Bethlehem on Highway 60, to the east of which the Efrat settlement is located. For this reason, in all negotiations conducted to date between Israel and the Palestinians on a permanent settlement, the Palestinians have insisted that Efrat not be annexed to Israel in order to ensure the territorial continuity of the West Bank and the development potential of the Bethlehem metropolis, which is blocked to the north and west by Israeli settlements and Israeli neighborhoods beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.
Peace Now: While the people of Israel sets their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating “on steroids” to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise. It is now clear that military action alone will not bring a solution to the conflict or security to Israel, and that ultimately we will have to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. The Netanyahu government is harming Israeli interests and torpedoing the only solution that can bring us security and peace.
