Mona Kandil
Press TV, Ramallah
Israel's municipality in Jerusalem al-Quds has approved the building of 8,300 new settler units.
According to Israeli media the settler units are set to be constructed for residential, industrial and commercial purposes. The new settler units will be built on lands from Beit Safafa, Malha, and al-Baqa'a villages in al-Quds and all the way to al-Walaja village northwest of Bethlehem in the occupied west bank.
Experts say the construction is scheduled to begin by 2021, and work will continue until 2040.
In addition to the new settlement units, Israel revealed earlier new projects including building dozens of roads between settlements through a master plan, the first of its kind in years, to establish a transportation network in the settlements.
The Palestinian National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements accused Israel of expanding the settlements in the West Bank by constructing new roads.They say the move is a clear indication that Israel carries on with its plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank.
Observers say through settlement expansion Israel is looking to ensure that within the next decade, one million Jewish settlers will live in the occupied West Bank. Today there are about half a million Israeli settlers in the West Bank with almost 250 thousand more living in Jerusalem al-Quds.
Palestinians say all indications prove that Israel is racing against time to build new settlements before the outgoing US administration leaves office. The Palestinian authority has warned that settlement activity has grave consequences in the occupied West Bank, and will definitely lead to more Palestinian land grab by the Israeli regime to facilitate the annexation of the occupied territories.