Watchdog says Israel is to expand West Bank settlement as the region marks 500 days of war

JERUSALEM (AP) — 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 Monday. Israelis and Palestinians meanwhile marked the 500th day since Hamas' attack into Israel ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

Peace Now says the development of 974 new housing units would allow the population of the Efrat settlement to expand by 40% and further block the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Hagit Ofran, who leads the group's settlement monitoring, said construction can begin after the contracting process and issuing of permits, which could take another year at least.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state and view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, a position with wide international support.

The war in Gaza was paused last month when a fragile ceasefire took hold. The first phase of the truce is set to end in early March, and it’s unclear whether it will be extended to allow the release of dozens more hostages, or if Israel will renew its military offensive against Hamas with U.S. support.

An Israeli strike in Lebanon killed a senior Hamas leader there a day before Israel is to complete its withdrawal from the country under a separate ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group.

Settlement expansion is set to accelerate with Trump in office

President Donald Trump lent unprecedented support to the settlements during his previous term. Israel has also steadily expanded settlements during Democratic administrations, which were more critical but rarely took any action to curb them.

Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully developed suburban communities, with apartment blocks, malls and parks.

Over 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to some 3 million Palestinians. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while Palestinians live under military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.

The Israeli government views the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood, while human rights groups have accused Israel of discrimination against and oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Peace Now, which favors a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of pressing ahead with settlement construction while dozens of hostages captured in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack languish in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

“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.

Israelis mark 500 days of war and captivity

Israelis held protests across the country on Monday calling for the ceasefire to be extended so that more hostages can be released. Demonstrators blocked a main intersection in Tel Aviv, and some protesters planned to fast for 500 minutes in a show of solidarity with the captives.

“All I care about, all I want, is for my friends to return. There were six of us living in unbearable conditions, in a six-square-meter (65-square-foot) space. I got out, but they are still there," Ohad Ben Ami, a hostage who was released a week and a half ago, told Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday. He added that hostages don't count days while in captivity, they count minutes and seconds.

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. Israeli forces have pulled back from most parts of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.

But the two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas would release more than 70 remaining hostages — around half of whom are believed to be dead — in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire.

Netanyahu and the Trump administration have given conflicting signals over whether they want to continue the ceasefire or renew the war. Both they say are committed to the eradication of Hamas and the return of all the hostages, but those goals are widely seen as incompatible.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and abducted around 250. More than half of the hostages have been returned in agreements with Hamas or other deals, while just eight have been rescued in military operations.

The militant group, though weakened, remains in full control of the territory. Hamas has said it is willing to relinquish power to other Palestinians but will not accept any occupying force.

Israel's air and ground war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The war destroyed vast areas of Gaza and at its height had displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million.

Trump has called for Gaza's population to be permanently relocated to other countries and for the United States to take ownership of the territory and rebuild it for others. Israel has welcomed the plan, while Palestinians and Arab nations have universally rejected the idea.

Rights groups and experts say the proposal, if implemented, would likely violate international law.

The proposal has meanwhile cast further doubt over the future of the ceasefire. Hamas may be unwilling to release the remaining captives — its only bargaining chips — it if believes Israel is going to resume the war with the goal of expelling the Palestinian population.

Israel kills senior Hamas official i

n Lebanon

An Israeli drone strike targeted a car in Lebanon's southern port city of Sidon, the deepest strike since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in November.

Israel said it targeted Muhammad Shaheen, the head of Hamas' operations in Lebanon. Footage circulating online showed a car engulfed in flames. The strike occurred near a Lebanese army checkpoint and Sidon’s municipal sports stadium.

The original withdrawal deadline was in late January, but under pressure from Israel, Lebanon agreed to extend it to Feb. 18. It remains unclear whether Israeli troops will complete their withdrawal by Tuesday.

Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it is targeting military sites containing missiles and combat equipment. Each side has accused the other of violating the truce.

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Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report. Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut.

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