Peace Now has condemned the Housing and Construction Ministry tender published yesterday for the construction of 44 new housing units in Ma'aleh Adumim.

In publishing the tender during U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Israel, the state is tearing to shreds its own obligations under the road map, said Peace Now.

	Advertisement

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."

Most of the tenders for the construction of housing units published by the state in the past year are for West Bank communities that various diplomatic plans deem will be under Israeli sovereignty under a final peace agreement with the Palestinians.