Israel Plans New Homes in Area That Could Split Future Palestinian State

Israel invited bids for 1,234 of 3,401 planned homes in E1 — a strip of land between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim. The deadline, 19 October, falls just before Israel's 27 October election. Critics say building there would cut the West Bank in two, making a connected Palestinian state impossible. Finance Minister Smotrich said a Palestinian state was "being erased."