Israel’s war minister Avigdor Lieberman is set on Wednesday to present plans to the Supreme Planning Council for the immediate construction of 1285 settlement units in the West Bank.
Lieberman will also seek to move forward projects for 2500 additional housing units in 20 settlements.
The Israeli minister said in a statement on Tuesday “We have pledged to propose plans of new batches of housing units every year and we will keep our promise.”
According to available information the new plans will not be limited to building new housing units in existing settlements but they may also involve the approval of housing units already built in some settlement outposts that are deemed illegal under the Israeli law.
The US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017 has given Israel the green light to step up its settlement activity which has never stopped in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli Peace Now organization said that these construction projects would undermine the peace process.
The Organization added that attempts to retroactively approve 11 units in the illegal settlement outpost of Netiv Ha’avot which were ordered to be evacuated are just another “disgraceful steps” that violate a final and explicit judicial decision. Peace Now called on Israel’s Attorney General to act against this “contempt of court”.
