A settlement supervisory body group says Israel is moving ahead with the new construction of hundreds of homes in an illegal East Jerusalem settlement that threatens to cut off parts of the city claimed by Palestinians from the West Bank. In a tender issued on its website on Sunday, the Israel Land Authority (ILA) invited contractors to bid for the construction of 1,257 housing units in Givat Hamatos, a settlement neighborhood of Jerusalem, reports Xinhua news agency. The last date for submitting the biddings is January 18, 2021, IT said.

The settlements are located in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands detained by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Most of the international community considers the settlements a violation of international law and a hurdle to peace. The new construction is expected to trigger anger among the Palestinians.

Givat Hamatos is located in some of the last lands connecting the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state. The Palestinians want to establish an independent state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital by way of peace talks with the Jewish state.

The last round of peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, sponsored by the US, broke down in 2014 owing to their deep divisions on issues related to Israeli settlements and the Palestinian statehood.

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