Leading an interim government does not prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from campaigning for the Israeli legislative elections on March 2. The government has approved the construction of 1,936 new homes in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, local NGO Peace said today Monday (January 6th).
This Israeli organization ensures that 1,150 projects have been approved for the deposit phase and 786 for the final validation phase, including 258 dwellings in Haresha, a settlement established on "Private lands" Palestinian women who are the subject of litigation. "Although it has no clear mandate, this government acts as if nothing had happened and continues to promote harmful and unnecessary construction in the occupied territories", stresses in a press release Peace Now, which is hostile to the development of the colonies.
Construction in the colonies has almost doubled
The settlements are all illegal under international law, but the Trump administration announced a policy change this fall, saying it was no longer for Washington. This decision had been castigated by the Palestinian authorities, but welcomed by Benjamin Netanyahu, who was courting the electorate of the settlements in an attempt to win the elections of April and September 2019. But the latter failed to find a clear winner , hence the third election in less than a year, March 2.
Colonization by Israel of the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem has continued under all Israeli governments since 1967. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers have settled in these territories, home to almost three million Palestinians.
This process has accelerated in recent years under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Washington ally, President Donald Trump. The latter changed its regional policy in favor of Israel, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Hebrew state and cutting funds for the Palestinians. According to data compiled by Peace Now, the number of approved housing units in the colonies since the real estate tycoon almost doubled (+ 90%).
