Publication of tenders for new settlement follows announcement of Israel's biggest land grab in West Bank since 1980s
West Bank settlement of Efrat. Israel plans to expropriate 400 hectares of land between Bethlehem and Hebron. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Israel has published tenders to build 283 homes in a West Bank settlement, days after announcing its biggest land grab on occupied Palestinian territory for three decades.
The expansion of the Elkana settlement, in the north-west of the West Bank, was approved in January and the tenders were published on Thursday, Israel's land authority said.
It came after Israel announced its biggest land grab in the West Banksince the 1980s, saying it planned to expropriate 400 hectares (988 acres) of land in the south of the territory, between Bethlehem and Hebron.
That move drew international condemnation, even from its staunch ally, the US, and some Israeli cabinet ministers.
The US state department urged Israel to reverse its decision while the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he was alarmed by Israel's plans.
Israel's settlement-building, which is illegal under international law, is seen as an obstacle to any lasting peace with the Palestinians, who want their future state to be on land, much of which Israel has annexed or built settlements on.
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