jordan pulse -

Israeli occupation authorities have published a tender to build 732 settlement units in Gvaot, west of Bethlehem, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Monday.

The tender, No. 261/2026, covers the first phase of the project. It includes multistory residential construction, commercial uses, and public buildings and institutions, according to the initial notice published in the Israel Land Authority registry.

The commission said in a statement that its review of the tender documents showed bids would open Dec. 1 and close Dec. 28. It said the residential tender was published alongside non-residential Tender No. 263/2026 for the same site, offering a plot for commercial and operational uses, public buildings and institutions.

The commission said the two tenders demonstrate that settlement expansion goes beyond adding housing to include economic and service components that sustain the project and entrench it on Palestinian land in Bethlehem Governorate. It explained that publishing the tenders moves the project from planning approval to offering land for development, allowing companies and developers to compete for contracts to build the units, facilities and associated infrastructure.

The commission stressed that publication does not mean construction has begun or a contract has been awarded. It said, however, that it marks a significant practical step toward turning approved plans into facts on the ground. For its monitoring purposes, the commission counts a tender from the publication of its initial notice, even if the tender documents are not yet available or bidding has not opened.

Citing its review of the Israel Land Authority registry, the commission said at least 28 tenders offering land for development had been published in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, from the beginning of the year through Nov. 8. Of these, 18 included residential development, covering a combined 7,815 settlement units across the tender offerings, while 10 were for non-residential uses.

//Petra// NQ