Israel government approves illegal settlements in occupied Palestine territories News
Almonroth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Israel government approves illegal settlements in occupied Palestine territories

Peace Now, an Israeli NGO, on Thursday reported that the Israeli government is planning the progression of 5,295 housing units across the West Bank. According to the organization, the government intends to expand not only its settlements but also the legal involvement of three outposts located in the Palestinian territory.

While the Higher Planning Committee of Israel had plans to establish more than 6,000 housing units, it approved some of them which are located in Neria, Gvaot, and Yakir, and postponed the rest. The government is going to work out the construction of a new city and roads to facilitate their growth during the current war in Palestine. More specifically, the granting of permission for the construction of new settlements in what is widely referred to as the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including Kedem Arava, Mahane Gadi, and Givat Hanan, indicated the Israeli government’s intention to expand its territory by legalizing these outposts as “neighborhoods” of the current settlements.

Peace Now criticized such actions, stating that:

Our government continues to change the rules of the game in the occupied West Bank, leading to irreversible harm. (…) This annexationist government severely undermines the security and future of both Israelis and Palestinians, and the cost of this recklessness will be paid for generations to come.

In addition to approving these new settlements, the Israeli security cabinet decided in June to legalize five settlements in the West Bank as a measure of sanctioning Palestine. At that time, Peace Now also condemned this plan because it led to the violation of international law by invading the other state’s territory, as well as threatening the security of the Palestinian people.

The Israeli government’s actions have largely been condemned by other states and institutions. In May, Canada decided to impose a sanction against the former settlements in the West Bank following the increase in the severity of attacks in the region. Additionally, a group of human rights organizations brought a complaint against Booking.com about its registration of properties in the settlements as available accommodations.

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