Israel okays construction of W. Bank housing units: NGO

By Esat Firat

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli authorities have approved construction of hundreds of new Jewish-only settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem, according to an Israeli human rights group.

In a Thursday statement, Peace Now, a Tel Aviv-based NGO, said the Israeli authorities had approved construction of 2,191 new settlement units in East Jerusalem’s Givat Zeev settlement.

The statement, which noted the Israeli government’s continued refusal to reach an equitable settlement with the Palestinians, reads: “Since the beginning of 2018, the government has approved construction of thousands of new Jewish-only settlement units.”

According to Palestinian figures, roughly 640,000 Jewish settlers now live on 196 settlements (built with the Israeli government’s approval) and more than 200 settler outposts (built without its approval) across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

International law regards both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there as illegal.