LONDON: Israeli authorities have advanced 11 settlement expansion plans that would add 895 housing units across the occupied West Bank, alongside industrial and commercial developments, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Saturday.

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said the plans cover several areas, including Qalqilya, Salfit, Nablus, Ramallah, Al-Bireh and Hebron, as well as the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the southern West Bank.

The projects extend beyond residential construction to include industrial zones, commercial facilities, roads and other infrastructure designed to support further settlement growth and accommodate more settlers, the commission said.

The largest residential expansion involves 288 additional housing units in the Kedumim settlement, built on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum, west of Nablus.

Other plans include 225 new units in Beit Hagai, south of Hebron, and 200 in Talmon, northwest of Ramallah.

The commission also identified plans for 98 additional units in Ariel in Salfit governorate and 83 in Elon Moreh, near Nablus.

It warned that the plans would convert agricultural land and open spaces into residential and industrial areas, further restricting Palestinian communities' access to land and opportunities for expansion.

The announcement comes amid renewed international concerns over Israeli settlement expansion, particularly the controversial E1 project east of occupied Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, Israeli rights groups Ir Amim, Bimkom and Peace Now said Israel had rescheduled the opening of bidding for 2,167 housing units in the E1 area to Dec. 1.

A separate tender for another 1,234 units closed for bids on Oct. 19, although the review was postponed until Nov. 19.

The groups also reported that Israeli authorities demolished about half of the structures in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Bir Al-Maskub on Nov. 3, displacing around 20 residents in an area designated for the E1 project.

The project, which envisages 3,401 housing units between East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, has drawn international condemnation over concerns that it would fragment Palestinian territory and undermine prospects for a viable Palestinian state.

The UN has repeatedly called on Israel to halt settlement expansion, saying the settlements violate international law and threaten the viability of a two-state solution.