ISRAEL has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank, an anti-settlement watchdog said today.

The warning came on the 500th day of Israel’s war on Gaza and as the Israeli security cabinet prepares to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Peace Now said that the planned 974 new housing units in the Efrat settlement would see it expand by 40 per cent and further block the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

Hagit Ofran, head of the group’s settlement monitoring, said construction can begin after the contracting process and permit approvals, which could take at least a year.

Settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, yet Israel has built more than 100, ranging from small hilltop outposts to fully developed suburban communities with infrastructure to which Palestinians often lack access.

Over 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to some three million Palestinians who live under military rule while settlers hold Israeli citizenship.

Peace Now accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of prioritising settlement construction while dozens of hostages captured by Hamas on October 7 2023 remain in captivity in Gaza.

“While the people of Israel set their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” it said in a statement.

“It is now clear that military action alone will not bring a solution to the conflict or security to Israel, and that ultimately we will have to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.

“The Netanyahu government is harming Israeli interests and torpedoing the only solution that can bring us security and peace.”

The warning came hours after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes and properties overnight in the towns and villages of Duma, Aqraba and Jurish in the Nablus governorate.

According to Wafa news agency, settlers assaulted residents, stole livestock and destroyed a poultry farm.

Earlier Israeli forces injured at least 13 Palestinians in an incursion into Nablus.

Israelis held protests across the country today calling for the ceasefire to be extended so that more hostages can be released.

In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a major intersection, while others planned to fast for 500 minutes in solidarity with those still held in Gaza.

Hamas is set to continue the gradual release of 33 hostages during the current phase of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has said its forces have pulled back from most parts of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid, but its 15 months of war has destroyed 70 per cent of the buildings in Gaza, and most families have nowhere to live.

And Israel has prevented the entry of shelters promised as part of the ceasefire deal, leaving tens of thousands of mobile homes stuck at the Rafah crossing awaiting approval.

Of the 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents agreed under the deal, only 20,000 tents have been allowed in so far.

Reports also indicate that Israeli attacks in Gaza have continued despite the ceasefire.

Local media reported two more Palestinian deaths today from injuries sustained days earlier — one from live bullets in Rafah and another from an air strike in Khan Younis.

An investigation by Israeli media outlet The Hottest Place in Hell has found that the Israeli military forced an 80-year-old Palestinian man to act as a human shield in Gaza, tying an explosive cord around his neck and threatening to detonate it if he did not comply.

The man was reportedly forced to scout homes for soldiers before eventually being ordered to flee with his wife.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has also reported severe mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners released under the ceasefire, stating that many were subjected to torture, starvation and solitary confinement.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have yet to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire, which is expected to involve the release of more than 70 remaining hostages, half of whom are believed to be dead, in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire.