Israel's housing ministry has issued tenders for 1,234 housing units in the controversial E1 area east of Jerusalem, a significant step in a project that has drawn widespread international criticism.

The plan, which involves construction across approximately 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles) between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, is viewed by many allies and Palestinians as a major impediment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The E1 project, if fully realized, would effectively divide the occupied West Bank in two.

While successive Israeli governments have allowed settlements to expand since the 1967 Middle East war, the current administration, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has accelerated settlement growth. Israel has established about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Palestinians seek for a future state. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside these settlements.

The Israeli government gave the go-ahead for E1 construction a year ago, with an explicit aim to "erase" the idea of a Palestinian state. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist and proponent of settlements, stated at the time that the notion of a Palestinian state was "being erased."

Despite legal challenges from Bedouin Palestinians residing in the area and Israeli peace organizations, the housing ministry has proceeded with issuing tenders for 1,234 of the 3,401 housing units approved last August. The deadline for bids is October 19, just days before Israel's general election on October 27. This timing is intended to facilitate contractor deals that would be difficult for a future government to revoke.

Plans for construction in E1 have faced decades of international condemnation, with many arguing that the settlement would sever the West Bank and undermine prospects for a two-state solution. In contrast, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had previously presented maps envisioning a two-state solution that did not include settlements in the E1 corridor.

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