Israeli occupation authorities issued a new tender to build 400 settlement housing units in the Karnei Shomron settlement, established in 1978 on Palestinian land east of Qalqilya in the northern occupied West Bank.

Karnei Shomron sits on land belonging to several Palestinian villages in the Qalqilya and Salfit governorates and has repeatedly seen new housing tenders and plan approvals.

Israeli officials and settler groups have long promoted expanding this corridor, including nearby settlements such as Emmanuel and Alfei Menashe, to concentrate a large settler population in the area.

Under international law, the West Bank is occupied territory, and transferring an occupying power’s civilians into occupied land is prohibited. Most of the international community regards Israeli settlements as illegal and a major obstacle to a two‑state solution.