26 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Israeli authorities have announced on Monday the construction of 5,700 new homes in the Jewish colonies of the West Bank despite pressure from the United States to stop the expansion of the settlements.
27 percent of the new homes (1,563) are concentrated in the Eli settlement, so three positions occupied by settlers will be legalized despite not having prior Israeli authorization and will now become neighborhoods: Palegi Maim, HaYovel and Nof Harim.
Last week four Israeli settlers were killed in an attack in Eli, sparking a wave of retaliatory attacks by settlers who burned homes and vehicles in the region and occupied Palestinian land to build settlements. At least one Palestinian was killed in these attacks.
The president of the Yesha Council, which brings together the Jewish colonies of the West Bank, Shlomo Neeman, has applauded the initiative because it is “the most appropriate Zionist response to those who want to harm us.” The Israeli right defends the construction of new settlements in response to attacks by Palestinian armed groups.
The number of new homes announced this Monday exceeds the 4,427 homes announced throughout 2022. In total this year it has announced the construction of 13,082 homes, above the previous annual record of 12,159, corresponding to 2020.
The Judea and Samaria Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration – the Israeli military body that has jurisdiction over construction in the occupied Palestinian territories – has given its final approval for the construction of 818 of these houses, while the rest are pending processing pending final review by the agency.
The houses with final approval are 359 in the settlement of Elkana, 381 in Revava. 714 in Givat Zeev, 340 in Maale Adumim, 312 in Beitar Illit, 310 in Adora, 264 in Etz Efraim and 152 in Maale Amos remain pending review.
Both the Yesha Council and the Israeli NGO Peace Now have published these figures. The pacifist organization recalled that the Higher Planning Council of Judea and Samaria met for the last time in February, when it announced the processing of 7,382 new homes.
“The Israeli government is leading us to annex the West Bank at a pace that is unprecedented,” Peace Now said in a statement.
This same Sunday the United States expressed its “frustration” over the settlement expansion policy promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The West Bank — including East Jerusalem — and the Gaza Strip — from which Israel withdrew in 2005 — were militarily occupied by Israel in the 1967 war along with the Syrian Golan Heights.
In total, some 700,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, some of them in colonies considered legal by Israel and some in settlements considered illegal even by the Israeli government. International Law considers the colonization of militarily occupied territories a war crime.
