Jerusalem: The Israeli occupation authority announced on Wednesday two tenders for building a new neighborhood in a Jewish settlement built on Palestinian land northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
According to Jordan News Agency, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate called the announcement for the new construction in the settlement of Adam/Geva Binyamin a "dangerous escalation" in Israel's settlement expansion drive and the annexation of more land on the northeastern slopes of the holy city. It is part of "a frantic race to impose a new demographic and geographic reality to serve the Greater Jerusalem scheme," the governorate stated.
The statement noted that Israel's Ministry of Housing published two tenders: one for the construction of 342 settler units in five complexes and the second for 14 detached houses for army reservists. The project, which received approval in January, plans to expand the settlement's built-up area by about 150 dunams towards the Bedouin community of Jaba', located east of the occupied city.
Since the beginning of the year, the occupation authority has announced a total of 5,667 new settlement units in the West Bank and Jerusalem. This figure is an unprecedented record, doubling the previous peak recorded in 2018.
In a related development within occupied Jerusalem, dozens of right-wing Israelis and settlers breached the Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Haram Al Sharif compound under heavy police protection. The extremists entered the complex in the early morning hours, conducting prayers on its grounds under tight security. This action represents the latest provocation against Muslim worshippers and guards, as reported in a press release by the Islamic Waqf Department, the custodian of the compound.