The Ministry of Construction and Housing on Monday published a tender for the construction of 44 new housing units in the settlement city of Ma'aleh Adumim.

The Peace Now organization condemned the tender, pointing out that in the course of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Israel, the state is tearing to shreds its own obligations under the road map.

The Yesha Council of Settlements welcomed the decision, saying the tender offered only a partial solution to the "true market demand for housing in areas enjoying national consensus such as Ma'aleh Adumim."

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In a letter to Sharon in April 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush signalled support for an eventual arrangement in which "already existing major Israeli populations centers" would someday become part of Israel, and U.S. officials privately indicated that Ma'aleh Adumim was one of the blocs to be included.

But Washington, which traditionally opposed all settlement activity in the territories as an "obstacle to peace," continues to frown on expansion of existing settlements.

Most of the tenders for the construction of housing units released by the state in the past year are for West Bank communities, which various diplomatic plans deem as part of Israeli sovereignty under a final peace agreement with the Palestinians.