Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Thursday evening the confiscation of 977 dunums of land from Palestinian villages south of Nablus for the establishment of a new settlement for the evacuees of the illegal Amona settlement.
Earlier in the day the Israeli Security Cabinet unanimously approved the establishment of a new settlement for the former settlers of Amona an illegally constructed outpost in the West Bank that was evacuated in February.
According to Yediot Ahronot Hebrew newspaper this is the first time in 20 years that the Israeli government has decided to establish a new settlement.
The new settlement is to be located in the Shiloh Valley near Nablus the sources added.
It also said the government had approved tenders to build 2000 new housing units from previously approved settlement projects.
The US administration later declared it accepts “Netanyahu’s rationale for approving one exceptional new settlement for evacuees of Amona.”
In December 2016 weeks before Trump was inaugurated the UN Security Council passed a resolution that declared all settlements in West Bank and occupied Jerusalem areas to be illegal. Trump condemned the decision at the time.
