Yesterday, the Ministry of Housing published six tenders for the construction of 4,030 new housing units in West Bank settlements:
Ariel – 730 housing units for the construction of a “neighborhood” west of the settlement, which in practice will constitute a new settlement, located about two kilometers from Ariel’s built-up area. These tenders join earlier tenders for 731 units issued in 2021, which have not yet been opened for bids. Ariel West will isolate and ultimately block the development of the Palestinian town of Salfit, which was intended to serve as a district center for surrounding Palestinian communities.
Ma’ale Adumim – 3,300 housing units according to construction plans approved in recent months. Ahead of last week’s hearing on the E1 plan, Peace Now wrote to the Higher Planning Council demanding the cancellation of the hearing, among other reasons because the newly approved construction in Ma’ale Adumim renders the E1 expansion unnecessary. The hearing was held nonetheless.
The Meaning of Tender Publication
Tenders are the implementation stage of construction plans. After the Higher Planning Council approves a plan, the Ministry of Housing, together with the Custodian of Government Property issues a tender inviting contractors to bid for the rights to build and market the project. Once a winning bid is selected, the contractor may request a building permit from the local authority, after which construction can begin. The process from tender to groundbreaking generally takes about one to two years. Not all settlement projects require such tenders. See more about the planning and construction process.
Peace Now: “The Netanyahu government is exploiting every minute to deepen the annexation of the West Bank and prevent the possibility of a two-state solution. It is clear to everyone today that the only solution to the conflict, and the only way to defeat Hamas, is through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Government of Israel is condemning us to continued bloodshed, instead of working to end it.”
The Tenders in Ariel – A New Settlement
The 730 housing units in Ariel are part of the Ariel West project, also known as “Amirim Neighborhood.” About four years ago, the Ministry of Housing issued tenders for 731 additional units in the same area, but they never entered into force. Ariel West is based on Plan No. 130/3/1, approved in 1991 (before the Oslo Accords) for approximately 1,600 units on land previously declared “state land.” The Ministry of Housing promoted the project under this old plan without a new government decision to establish a settlement and without updated planning.
Because this is an old plan, it emerged that part of the planned access road crossed privately-owned Palestinian land, and that there were deviations in some of the planned plots. Authorities therefore advanced a plan for a new access road and another plan to correct the plot boundaries—framed as “amendments” to the old plan rather than a new settlement proposal. The road plan was approved in November 2022, and the revised plot plan in May 2025. Infrastructure work began in February 2024.
Implementing this plan and the associated tenders will permanently block the development potential of Salfit and its surroundings, which were intended to develop into a district city for nearby Palestinian communities. See how Ariel is blocking Salfit in the following video:
The Tenders in Ma’ale Adumim
The 3,300 housing units in Ma’ale Adumim represent an increase of about 33% in the settlement’s housing stock—an enormous expansion for a settlement whose population has been stagnant at around 38,000 for the past decade and has experienced net out-migration. The tenders are for a large neighborhood that will connect Ma’ale Adumim’s built-up area with the industrial zone to its east.
This planned construction raises serious questions about the need for the E1 plan. Even if there were high demand in Ma’ale Adumim, there is no justification—political or from a development perspective—for promoting a suburban settlement deep in the heart of the West Bank.
