Haaretz a Hebrew newspaper revealed that the Israeli Supreme Council for Planning and Building will approve next Sunday the construction of 2500 housing units in Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank in addition to endorsing plans for building 2000 other housing units.
Haaretz reported on Tuesday that some of the building plans will include legalization of buildings that were already built without permits and hinder the possibility of expanding Palestinian towns.
The newspaper indicated that some of these construction plans will be built in isolated settlements and even the deal of the century proposed by US President Trump kept them hidden inside the Palestinian state stipulated in the plan.
It pointed out that 121 new settlement units will be approved in Yitzhar settlement south of Nablus (northern West Bank) 64 units in Telem settlement west of al-Khalil and 215 housing units in Asbar settlement east of Bethlehem and 14 housing units in Ma’aleh Mikhmash settlement east of Ramallah.
The plans also provide for the construction of 141 housing units in the Shilo settlement north of Ramallah. These units will be established in the north of the settlement between the Palestinian villages of Qaryut and Jalud.
According to the newspaper 120 hotel rooms will be approved in Fata’il settlement adjacent to the Palestinian town of Faysil in the Jordan Valley along with a park in the settlement which was built in 2016 without a permit.
The Israeli occupation will permanently approve the construction of 357 housing units in Geva Binyamin settlement northeast of Occupied Jerusalem 354 housing units in Nili settlement northwest of Ramallah 346 housing units in Beit El settlement north of Ramallah and 36 housing units built without a permit in Beit El settlement will be legalized.
Building plans for 952 housing units in Har Gilo settlement south of Occupied Jerusalem will be approved. This plan will prevent the expansion of Al-Walaja Palestinian village.
Around 629 housing units in Aili settlement south of Nablus will also be approved and some of them will be legalized after they were built without permits.
By an overwhelming majority the international community considers the Israeli settlements illegal. Based on the Fourth Geneva Convention the occupying power cannot transfer Israelis to the occupied territories.
However the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) did not heed this position and they seized about 51.6 percent of the West Bank (including Jerusalem City) over the past decades in favor of Israeli settlements and military bases. The Palestinian-Israeli negotiations stopped in 2014 after the IOA refused to stop settlement activity and release long-serving Palestinian prisoners.
