News / Palestine

Israel to construct 300 new settler units in occupied West Bank

Sunday, 24 December 2017 4:48 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 December 2017 4:50 PM ]

A picture taken on November 8, 2017 shows a general view of construction work in Gilo settlement in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of Jerusalem al-Quds. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli officials are expected to advance plans for the construction of 300 new settler units in the occupied West Bank irrespective of the international outcry against the Tel Aviv regime’s land expropriation and settlement expansion policies in Palestinian lands.

The so-called Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee is going to issue permits for the construction of the new settlement units on Monday, Arabic-language Ma’an news agency reported.

The units will reportedly be built in Gilo settlement, located about five kilometers south of Jerusalem al-Quds, and two kilometers west of Bethlehem.

Less than a month before US President Donald Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.

A picture taken on November 8, 2017 shows a general view of construction work in Gilo settlement in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of Jerusalem al-Quds. (Photo by AFP)

About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.

This as there have been regular anti-US protests by Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since December 6, when Trump declared that Washington recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. Many say Trump's move has effectively killed any chances of further negotiations.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem al-Quds policy drew fierce criticism from the international community, including Washington's Western allies, and triggered protests against the US and Israel worldwide.

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly voted by a resounding majority to reject Trump's Jerusalem al-Quds move.

Israel lays claim to the whole Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views the ancient city’s eastern sector as occupied land and the Palestinians consider it their future capital.

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