JERUSALEM: An Israeli settlement-planning body has advanced permits for 3,500 new homes in West Bank settlements near Jerusalem, according to statements by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Orit Strock.
The homes are expected to be built in the Israeli settlements of Maale Adumim, Kedar, and Efrat, which are all close to Jerusalem, The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday.
The proposed homes in Maale Adumim and Kedar are at a public input stage – a time period for the public to submit an input before the agency makes a final decision, whereas those in Efrat have been advanced for final approval, according to the report.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the new planned settlements will add to a record number of 18, 515 homes, approved for the occupied West Bank.
“The enemies try to harm and weaken us, but we will continue to build and be built up in this land,” he wrote on X, formerly twitter, on Wednesday.
Smotrich oversees the Higher Planning Committee of Civil Administration in charge of the settlement planning in the West Bank.
The Israeli Minister of National Missions, Orit Strock, thanked Smotrich in a social media post, saying “together we will continue to promote settlement.”
“Almost 3,500 additional units in Yosh! We promised — we deliver,” she said on X.
The occupied West Bank is part of territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek statehood in the region.
Most world leaders deem the settlements illegal but Israel disputes that citing historical claims to the occupied West Bank and describing it as a security bulwark.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has promoted the settlements, causing friction with one of the country’s key allies, the United States, who is also Tel Aviv’s biggest backer in its ongoing war with Hamas.
On February 24, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington deemed West Bank settlements inconsistent with international law, reverting to a US position that had been overturned by the administration of former President Donald Trump.
Courtesy: alarabiya
