Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Israel Approves 1,313 New Settler Homes in Occupied West Bank


Wed 14 Oct 2020 | 08:04 PM
H-Tayea

On Wednesday, Israel approved to build over 1,313 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, according to Israel's Civil Administration planning committee's statement.

The move is ending an eight-month lull in settlement expansion. The decision has dealt another blow to hopes of a wider Israeli-Arab peace deal.

The approval raised the number of settlement homes to be advanced this year to nearly 9,500, according to a settlement watchdog group, by far the highest number of approvals since US President Donald Trump took office in early 2017.

The Israeli decision came less than a month after Israel agreed to suspend plans to annex chunks of the West Bank as part of efforts to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In January, Trump unveiled his controversial Middle East peace plan, which gave Washington's blessing to Israel's plans to annex swathes of the West Bank, including the settlements — communities considered illegal under international law.

Wednesday's approval not only further eroded hopes for a wider Israeli-Arab peace deal, but also triggered a wave of anger from Palestinians, who want to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

"We urge the international community to intervene immediately to stop this settlement madness, which destroys any chance for a genuine peace process," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinians have also condemned the Gulf-Israel accords and dropped out of the rotating presidency of the Arab League in protest.