An Israeli committee has approved a plan for the construction of 1,500 new settler units in the occupied East al-Quds, as the regime steps up its land grab and forced eviction policies in the Palestinian territories in defiance of international law.
Israel’s so-called organization and building committee of the al-Quds municipality on Thursday said it had approved the plan for constructing 1,500 units in East al-Quds, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
The settler units are to be built on an annexed land located between the French Hill and the Hebrew University in the holy city, the report further said, adding the construction will begin on an area of 150 dunums.
The new settlement project will include 500 rooms for Jewish students, 200 fortified rooms, several residential towers and public buildings, it added.
Since early January, the Tel Aviv regime has approved four settlement expansion projects, including a plan to expand the Hebrew University.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its capital.
In addition to expanding its illegal settlements, Israel restricts freedom of movement for Palestinians not only in and out of Palestine but also within it. Israeli settlers, backed by the military, also routinely storm the al-Aqsa mosque and provoke clashes with Palestinian worshipers.