Israel approves 2,500 new settlement homes in occupied West Bank

AFP, Reuters
This file photo taken on December 28, 2016 shows a partial view of the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AFP)

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH: Israel has approved the construction of 2,500 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, officials said Tuesday, making good on promises to expand such building following the election of US President Donald Trump.
The plans, approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, marked the largest recent announcement of settlement building by Israel.
Saeb Erakat, Palestine Liberation Organization secretary-general, told AFP: “The international community must hold Israel accountable immediately for what it is doing.”
He said that Israel had been emboldened by “what they consider encouragement by American President Donald Trump.”
The Israeli Defense Ministry announced the plans in a statement, saying most of the homes would be located within large settlement blocks in the West Bank.
Netanyahu spoke of the settlement approvals on Twitter. “We are building and we will continue building,” he said.
Trump has signaled strong support for Israel and Israeli right-wing politicians have sought to take advantage, with hard-liners calling for an end to the idea of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but reportedly told ministers Sunday that all restrictions on building settlements in annexed East Jerusalem were being lifted.
He also said Sunday he plans to expand construction in large settlement blocks in the West Bank, Israeli media reported, and that he foresees eventually bringing all settlements under Israeli sovereignty.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the Israeli announcement and said it would have “consequences.”
“The decision will hinder any attempt to restore security and stability, it will reinforce extremism and terrorism and will place obstacles in the path of any effort to start a peace process that will lead to security and peace,” he said.
Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state.
Meanwhile, the UN denounced Israeli initiatives to accelerate settlement construction in occupied Palestinian territory, stressing that “unilateral actions” are an obstacle to peace based on a two-state solution.
“For the secretary general there is no plan B for the two states solution,” UN chief Antonio Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“In this respect any unilateral decision that can be an obstacle to the two-state goal is of grave concern for the secretary general,” he said.
Dujarric said the UN’s position on settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “has not changed.”