UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada condemn Israel's West Bank settlement project

Despite an Israeli court challenge to the plans by Bedouin Palestinians living in the area and Israeli peace groups, on Wednesday the Israeli housing ministry issued a tender for 1,234 of the 3,401 housing units approved by the Israeli government last August.It covers about 12 sq km (4.6 sq miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.At the time of their unveiling, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - an ultranationalist and settler - said the idea of a Palestinian state was "being erased".The deadline for bids is 19 October, just days before Israel's general election on 27 October, making it much harder for any future government to overturn any tenders issued.Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.Despite the fierce international opposition, successive Israeli governments have allowed settlements to grow.However, expansion has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of a r...