The plans for 2,342 settler homes in the occupied West Bank have been given final approval for construction by Israel, confirmed settlement watchdog Peace Now.
Approval for a building permit for the construction of the new Tunnel Road, which bypasses Bethlehem to the west has also been granted by Israeli occupation authorities, which is expected to increase the number of settlers in the area.
Israel approves more than 2,300 settler homes: NGO https://t.co/Dvcm46n5ot
— The Daily Star Lebanon (@DailyStarLeb) October 31, 2019
The Israeli Civil Administration’s High Planning Subcommittee — responsible for authorizing settlement construction — published the protocol yesterday from a meeting it held earlier this month when it made the approvals, Peace Now said.
According to Israeli movement Peace Now, which follows settler activity in the occupied Palestinian territories, 59 percent of the new homes will be erected in “settlements that Israel likely may evacuate under a peace agreement” with the Palestinians.
Plans for 8,337 housing units in the settlements have been approved since the beginning of the year, an increase of close to 50 percent compared to 2018 when plans for 5,618 housing units were approved.
8,337 settler homes have been approved in 2019 so far, the highest on record. https://t.co/tsDgRAK694
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) November 1, 2019
All Israeli settlements and associated activities are illegal under international law.
Peace Now called on the next government to “put a freeze on the development of settlements and to strive for immediate resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions and to end the bloody conflict based on the principle of two states for two peoples.”
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
