UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, denounced Israel on Sunday for opening tenders for new settlement units in the occupied West Bank.

“Today, the Israeli authorities announced tenders for the construction of more than 1,300 housing units in the occupied West Bank,” Wennesland said in a statement.

“I am deeply concerned by continued Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” he added in the statement.

On Sunday, Israeli occupation government invited bids for the construction of 1,355 new settlement units in the illegal Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Ministry of Construction and Housing also said that it plans to double the settler population, which is currently about 6,400 settlers, in the occupied Jordan Valley by 2026, and that they will advertise 1,500 housing units in the area.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.