Israel’s so-called District Committee for Planning and Building approved a new settlement plan to set up 1500 new settlement units south of Occupied Jerusalem.
The plan aims to expand Talfiot illegal settlement south of Occupied Jerusalem at the expense of the Palestinian lands north of Bethlehem.
The plan includes the construction of 7 towers on an area of about 16 dunums at the corner of two streets on the Hebron-Bethlehem road.
Along the same line Haaretz Hebrew newspaper revealed that Israel’s Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Council advanced on Wednesday plans to build 3612 housing units in the settlements of which 950 are expected to receive final approval.
The planning council is expected to advance plans for another 3411 units on Thursday bringing the total advanced in the two meetings above the totals approved in 2022 and 2021 – 4427 and 3645 respectively.
According to the paper plans are also being advanced to retroactively legalize existing outposts.
Apart from Mevo’ot Yericho which was declared a settlement three years ago and is only now being legalized the other outposts will be legalized as neighborhoods of existing settlements despite being administered separately.
The outpost of Pnei Kedem where Simcha Rothman the chairman of the Constitution Law and Justice Committee lives will be legally recognized as part of Metzad Zayit Ra’anan as part of Talmon and Nofei Nehemia as part of Rehelim.
The council is also expected to give initial approval for construction plans in Netiv Ha’avot an outpost that was evacuated several years ago and will now be included as a neighborhood of the Elazar settlement. Construction plans for isolated settlements including Ma’aleh Amos Nokdim Elon Moreh and Kfar Tapuach are also expected to be advanced.
The settlements set to expand most dramatically are Ma’ale Adumin (1100 units) Kochav Yaakov near Ramallah (630 units) Giv’at Ze’ev (485 units) Ma’ale Amos (485 units) and Elazar (430 units).
Last week the UN Security Council reiterated that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines.
This came after Israeli authorities on Feb. 13 moved to advance 10000 new settlement homes in the West Bank and moved to retroactively legalize nine settler outposts that were previously illegal under Israeli law.
The announcement drew stern international backlash including from the Palestinian Authority (PA) which had sought to hold a Security Council vote condemning the expansion.
However the PA reportedly agreed to suspend that effort over the weekend after the Council agreed to issue a statement regarding Israel’s actions a move that was strongly denounced by Hamas Movement.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem described such a PA step as a “departure from the Palestinian national consensus.”
