The Israeli Civil Administration of the West Coast of the Jordan River has announced a competition for 974 housing in the Efrat settlement south of Bethlehem. This was reported by Shalom Shoghawar (Peace Now) a human rights organization that monitors the activities of the settlements of the Jewish state.
According to it, the competition is held to create a new district, which will significantly expand the territory of the Efrat settlement and will increase its number of residents by about 40%.
The quarterly development program was approved in 2024. Human rights activists say that the expansion of the settlement will hinder the development of Bethlehem, which is under the control of the Palestinian National Administration and can cut the south of the West Coast from the northern regions.
That is why the Palestinians oppose the expansion of the Efrat through the creation of new Jewish districts and settlements.
