Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to build 3,500 new settler homes in a super-sensitive area of the occupied West Bank, just a week before a tight general election. "I gave immediate instructions for a permit to deposit (plans) for the construction of 3,500 units in E1," Netanyahu said. The international community has warned repeatedly that Jewish settlement construction in the E1 corridor would cut the West Bank in two and compromise the contiguity of a future Palestinian state. "We are building Jerusalem and Jerusalems outskirts," Netanyahu said at a conference in remarks relayed by a spokesman. In 2013, Netanyahu had vetoed construction in the E1 corridor in the face of UN, EU and US pressure. The move to advance new homes, which would constitute a new neighborhood of Maale Adumim, a nearby settlement town, was praised by the Yesha Council, a settler lobby group, which noted that plans for homes there have existed since 2004. "Advancing the issue will enable broad and strategic construction between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem," Yesha Council head David Elhayani said in a statement. On Thursday, Netanyahu announced plans for thousands of new homes for Israelis in annexed east Jerusalem, with critics calling the move a last-minute gift to nationalist supporters ahead of a March 2 general election. But Netanyahus annexation promises do not go far enough for some settlers. They believe God promised the land to their forefathers and want all the West Bank, for which they use the Biblical name Judea and Samaria, not just the settlements. "Rest assured that we will not stop claiming every single inch of this land when Netanyahu, please God, is elected," said Daniella Weiss, a settler leader from Kedumim who helped establish the nearby settlement outpost of Har Hemed. Netanyahu goes on trial on March 17 on corruption charges he denies. But opinion polls show Likud inching past the centrist Blue and White party of former armed forces chief Benny Gantz, though neither is likely to win a solid parliamentary majority. The settlements traditionally vote right-wing, with Likud mainly competing with religious and ultra-religious parties for votes. Every vote could be vital as the last two elections were extremely close -- a single seat in parliament could prove decisive when it comes to coalition-building. Seeking to shore up settler support, Netanyahu has held almost daily events in settlements, including visiting Ariel on Monday with Trump-appointed US Ambassador David Friedman. Still, some settlers are skeptical he will make good on his annexation promise. Further south, in Maale Adumim, a settlement of more than 40,000 people about 15 minutes drive from Jerusalem, the red-roofed homes, shopping mall, flowerbeds and traffic make it look like many other Israeli cities. But most of the international community regards it and other settlements as a violation of international law. Israel rejects that view, and is largely backed by the Trump administration.