Tag: settlements

Israel moves forward with new settlements amid tensions

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Jerusalem: The Israeli Land Authority has published tenders for more than 1,000 housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel’s anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said in a statement.
According to the statement released on Friday, the tenders are for 940 houses in the West Bank and nearly 90 in East Jerusalem. They were made public earlier this week, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Despite Israel’s commitments to its allies around the world, it appears to continue promoting construction that harms the chances for a political agreement and increases tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in both the short and long term,” read the statement released by the organisation, which regularly monitors the construction of Israeli settlements.
The publication of the tenders came amid rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank since January.
Earlier this week, the Israeli parliament repealed a 2005 act that led to the evacuation of four Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that could pave the way for Israeli settlers to return to the abandoned settlements, possibly stoking more tensions.
In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians. Since then, Israel has populated the area with more than half a million Jewish residents. The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal.
The Palestinians have been seeking to establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 25, 2023
Israel approves building 7,157 new housing units in West Bank settlements

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Jerusalem: Israel has approved plans to build 7,157 new housing units in the settlements in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli settlement watchdog group said.
The Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration, an Israeli body responsible for approving construction in the West Bank, approved the building plans after two days of discussions that began on Wednesday, according to a statement released by Peace Now on Thursday.
Out of the planned new housing units, 5,257 units are being advanced with preliminary approval, while 1,900 are waiting for the final approval required for the construction to begin, it said.
This represents one of the largest settlement expansion projects approved in recent years, compared to 4,427 housing units approved in 2022 and 3,645 units in 2021, it added.
The move came fewer than two months after the swearing-in of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, which is dominated by ultra-nationalist and pro-settler parties, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Wednesday, an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus killed 11 Palestinians and injured 102 others, aggravating the already tense ties between Israelis and Palestinians.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 24, 2023
Israeli cabinet ministers reject US criticism on West bank settlements

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Jerusalem: Israel’s finance minister on Tuesday dismissed Washington’s criticism of new settlement construction in the West Bank, promising to double down and legalise dozens of wildcat outposts in the occupied territory.
Bezalel Smotrich reaffirmed his commitment to expand Israeli authority in the lands that the Palestinians seek for a future state less than a day after the United States expressed opposition to the move.
On Tuesday, Europe’s top diplomats also condemned Israel’s plans to build thousands of new homes in the West Bank and retroactively legalise nine outposts, saying they are “deeply troubled” and “strongly oppose these unilateral actions”.
The joint statement from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom echoed the American condemnation, with no sign they would any action against Israel.
Smotrich, a religious ultranationalist settler, appeared defiant on Tuesday. He and his right-wing allies, he said, remain “committed to removing completely the restrictions on building in Judea and Samaria”, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.
Smotrich said the Israeli government has “clarified (its) position to the Americans.”
“Disagreements are allowed, even between friends,” he added.
In a contentious coalition deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Smotrich authority over the defense body responsible for planning for both settlements and Palestinian construction in parts of the West Bank where Israel maintains civilian control.

Once he receives those powers, Smotrich has vowed to “normalise” life for more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, erasing the differences between living in a settlement and within Israel’s internationally recognised border and effectively annexing West Bank territory. Such a move would draw widespread global condemnation.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements illegal and and an obstacle to peace. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
On Sunday, after a surge in violence in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu’s Cabinet unanimously authorised the legalization of nine settlement outposts and said it would soon approve 10,000 new homes in existing settlements.
Ultranationalists who oppose Palestinian statehood comprise a large part of Israel’s new government, which has declared settlement construction a top priority.
Israel’s newest settlement plans have also drawn condemnation from Israel’s Arab neighbours Jordan and Egypt, as well as Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt also joined the chorus of criticism.
“The Israeli settlement policy on occupied land is contrary to international law and must be stopped,” Huitfeldt said.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 15, 2023