The Israeli government will approve in its weekly meeting on Sunday a budget of 60 million shekels (about 16700000 US dollars) allocated for the construction of the new settlement of Amichai south of Nablus.
According to Hebrew media sources Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ask the cabinet ministers to agree on the budget under which the Ministry of Finance will transfer 55 million shekels to the Ministry of Housing to start building the settlement Quds Press reported.
The news agency said that other 5 million shekels will be sent to the Israeli war ministry to set up mobile homes to house the settlers evicted from Amona on temporary basis before they are moved to the new settlement.
The Israeli occupation authorities on 2nd February evacuated Amona outpost which was built on Palestinian lands to the northeast of Ramallah based on a Supreme Court order.
The construction of Amichai which will be built on the lands of Jaloud village to the south of Nablus began last May and it is planned to include 102 settlement units. The construction activities however were later suspended due to differences over the budget.
Hebrew sources reported that the settlement deal was prepared by Yoav Horowitz chief of staff at Netanyahu’s office and it will be part of the initial budget announced by the government in December to compensate Amona settlers.
Head of Jaloud village council Abdullah Haj Mohammed said in an earlier interview with Quds Press that Israeli bulldozers began to raze lands in the village that were confiscated about 27 years ago in preparation for the construction of the new settlement.
Israeli occupation authorities have stepped up their settlement policies in the Palestinian territories after the Knesset approved the so-called “Regulation Law” which legalizes the construction of Jewish settlements on privately-owned Palestinian lands and prevents Israeli courts from taking any decision to dismantle these settlements. In exchange Palestinian owners will be compensated with money or receive alternative lands.
On 23rd December 2016 the UN Security Council adopted a resolution asking Israel to immediately and completely halt its settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories.
