NAZARETH, (PIC)
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has approved the construction of 3,500 new housing units for Jewish settlers in the illegal settlements of Ma’ale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar in east Jerusalem.
The higher planning council of the civil administration in the West Bank and Jerusalem announced the decision on Wednesday.
The decision comes exactly one year after far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich received authority over civilian matters in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israel Hayom newspaper noted.
“This year we have done great things for the settlements. Along with the approval of these housing units, we are promoting a series of settlements, land surveys, security, roads, and other announcements in the West Bank and Jerusalem on an unprecedented scale,” Smotrich said after the plan was announced today.
During last February, 1,066 violations had been committed by Israeli forces and 129 violations by settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
These violations include the annexation of vast tracts of Palestinian land, especially 2,640 dunums of land belonging to citizens in Occupied Jerusalem.
