Israel has approved plans for the construction of over 8,000 new homes in the West Bank, with over a third for set for “immediate” construction.
According to the Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, 3,651 settlements were approved last week.
The planned expansion of illegal Jewish settlements will make it the largest in a quarter of a century.
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RT reports:
Plans for 8,345 new housing units have been approved by the Israeli authorities so far this year, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency writes, citing Liebermann. Out of these, 3,066 have been given final approval and will soon be built.
“The numbers for the first half of 2017 are the highest since 1992,” Lieberman said, as cited by local media and news agencies.
The defense minister also praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for its aggressive stance on expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
“There was no better government in terms of settlement construction,” he said, according to Haaretz.
For some, however, the plans appear to fall short of expectations.
“I respect the defense minister very much but unfortunately the numbers he mentioned aren’t correct,” Yossi Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, said, according to the newspaper. According to Dagan, most of the approved units “are counted five or six times,” essentially putting the “real number” under 2,000 housing units.
However, according to Lieberman, pushing for more would “stretch the rope beyond its limit, and thus put the entire settlement enterprise at risk.”
Nearly 400,000 Jewish settlers are estimated to be living in the West Bank along with 2.8 million Palestinians. Another 200,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, an area claimed by Palestinians.
The construction of settlements in the region is considered illegal under international law. The international community has long voiced concerns over the controversial constructions while condemning the deteriorating security situation between Israelis and Palestinians.
The government of Israel stopped building official settlements in 1992, according to Israeli monitoring group Peace Now. That, however, did not stop the construction of unauthorized settlements in the West Bank.
Niamh Harris
I am really sorry to see such ignorance , settlements in Israel not only are not illegal but actually originally belong to Israel. they R freed again land of Israel !please read the history .israel is a land given to Israel by Go-d 3000 years ago 1700 years before Islam . They were taken to Exile by Romans & Babylonians , that’s why there went there when (so called ) Palestinians came to live there . There used to B 3 nations in land of Israel B4 its independence , English troops , Palestinians ( Jews ) & Arabs . They stole Israelis Name & identity, now they want to steal their land. Jordan belongs to Palestinians that Malek Hosein took it away from them fight with them and threw them out .There had never been a country called : Palestine , never had a Government , currency, flag, Money or borders. Please read history don’t make a fool of UR self !
Evil, invading species, war criminals, murderers of the innocent.
‘One has to be Willingly Ignorant, or Genetically Challenged, to Believe the Israhell Hoax’
http://www.johnccarleton.org/BLOGGER/2017/06/12/one-has-to-be-willingly-ignorant-or-genetically-challenged-to-believe-the-israehell-hoax/