Israel approves 1,000 new settler homes in West Bank

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Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved the building of 1,004 housing units in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an Israeli settlement watchdog said.

The permits were issued by the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration.

Peace Now, an Israeli non-governmental organization, said in a statement that some 96 percent of the new construction is planned in isolated settlements, which Israel will likely need to evacuate within the framework of a two-state peace deal.

According to local media reports, the government plans to promote tenders for the construction of hundreds of additional housing units in the West Bank, as well as promoting a future plan for some 300 units in Beit El.

Israeli children walk in settlement of Beit El near the West Bank city of Ramallah, January 25, 2017. /VCG Photo

The former US President Barack Obama's administration criticized Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements and denounced it as a major obstacle to peace. But after President Donald Trump stepped into the White House, the settlement construction in the West Bank sharply increased.

Peace Now said that according to data provided by Israel's official Bureau of Statistics, since the beginning of Trump's term in early 2017, the Israeli government promoted plans for 10,536 units and tenders for 5,679 units in West Bank settlements.

The settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, where the Palestinians wish to form their future state.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency