Israel is planning to build more than 160 new illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, as it prepares to annex a third of the Palestinian territories.
According to the Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bethlehem (CAWSB), the High Planning Committee of the Israeli Civil Administration approved the construction of 164 housing units in Neve Daniel settlement in southern Bethlehem.
Archbishop Atallah #Hanna: ‘#Palestinians Will Not Raise the White Flag’ https://t.co/HPBys0xJGE via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/8vVQb7Bkyw
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Hassan Bureijia, head of the CAWSB, said in a statement on Sunday that Israel’s illegal endeavor will create a new neighborhood built on Palestinian-owned land seized in the town of Khader, located five kilometers west of Bethlehem and Nahalin village.
Under international law, Jewish settlements constructed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories constitute a violation of international law and are considered illegal.
#US Officials Leave #Israel without Agreement on #Annexation Date https://t.co/UacHo4wNl5 via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/oo5bSmoAtB
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 6, 2020
Over the last few months, Netanyahu repeatedly promised to annex parts of the Palestinian territories. This includes large swathes of the already occupied West Bank and parts of the strategic Jordan Valley.
The idea began to take form in a tangible way following the Trump Administration’s announcement of the so-called Deal of the Century on January 28, which allows Israel to seize parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, and grants Palestinians a ‘state’ on the disjointed parts of whatever remains of the West Bank.
(Palestine Chronicle, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Social Media)
