The Israeli Knesset has approved on Monday evening the second and third readings of legislation that will allow the further expansion of a Jewish-only settlement in occupied Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood located south of al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to Haaretz newspaper the law allows new settlement units to be erected inside an area recently designated as a “national park”.
Both readings were approved late Monday by a vote of 63 to 41 the paper said.
The initiative is being spearheaded by pro-settler group Elad which is known for promoting the confiscation of Palestinian property in occupied Jerusalem to make way for the construction of Jewish settlements.
International law continues to view occupied Jerusalem along with the entire West Bank as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement construction as illegal.
