Why is Israel building new illegal settlements?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Israel has opened construction bids for 1,200 new illegal housing units in the occupied West Bank, including a planned settlement area known as E1. The report says the move comes under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government and is part of a long-running expansion of Israeli settlements in territory occupied since 1967.

According to the article, the government has moved quickly on new settlement plans as elections draw nearer. The policy is presented as an effort to strengthen Israel’s control over the West Bank, while also making it harder for a contiguous Palestinian state to emerge. Al Jazeera notes that the settlements are considered illegal under international law and that the E1 plan has drawn international criticism.

The report also says some Western countries have warned about possible sanctions if Israel proceeds, though it raises the question of whether such pressure would have any effect. The article frames the issue as part of a broader debate over Israel’s settlement strategy and its implications for the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Background context: the West Bank has been a focal point of dispute for decades, and settlement construction there remains one of the most contentious issues in diplomacy over the conflict.