Israel permits 350 new Jerusalem settler units

By Eshat Firat

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli government has approved the construction of 350 new Jewish-only housing units in occupied West Bank, according to a local media report on Sunday.

"The Israeli government gave permission for these new settler units in Gush Etzion’s Netive Ha’avot, southern Bethlehem in occupied West Bank," daily Yediot Ahronot said.

The government also approved the construction of temporary houses for 15 Jewish families who had recently been asked by the Supreme Court to remove their illegal construction from Palestinian properties.

Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a feasibility study for another 800 new settler units in Har Bracha Jewish cluster in Nablus town in West Bank, broadcaster Channel 7 reported.

The Israeli authorities on Thursday approved the construction of hundreds of new Jewish-only housing units in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Israeli media reports.

"The [Israeli] Jerusalem Municipality's planning and construction committee has approved the construction of 3,000 new housing units at the Gilo [settlement] in southern Jerusalem," Israeli radio reported.

"The planned settlement units will be built on an area of approximately 280 dunams [around 252 square km], most of which is owned by Palestinians," it added.

Last year, Israel's Channel 10 reported on plans to build 300,000 new Jerusalem housing units as part of a so-called "Greater Jerusalem" bill aimed at annexing settlements built in the occupied West Bank.

According to Channel 10, most of the units would be constructed in areas located beyond the Green Line, in reference to territories that Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Roughly 600,000 Israeli settlers currently live on more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967.

The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land as illegal.