Israeli authorities have approved plans for the construction of hundreds of new settler units in the central part of West Bank. This attempt has been termed ‘Tel Aviv regime’s land grab policy’ in the occupied Palestinian territories by Iran.
As reported by the Press TV citing the Palestinian Information Centre (PIC), the units will be built in Efrat settlement. It is located some 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) south of al-Quds. PIC has blamed that this activity of Israel is at the expense of illegal confiscation of Palestinian-owned lands south of Bethlehem. The report claims that the plan also includes the establishment of a new settlement with 7,000 units in Bethlehem.
Earlier, the Israeli Supreme Court had rejected the appeal submitted by Palestinians to prevent the settlement expansion plan. The settlement will seize 1,200 dunams (296.5 acres) of land. It is in Khallet al-Nahla area of Wadi Rahal village, south of Bethlehem may spark new protests in the region.
Meanwhile the Palestinian Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission has claimed that the Israeli authorities had given the green light for the expropriation of Palestinian lands near the central West Bank city of Salfit.
According to the commission, the so-called Israeli Civil Administration ordered the confiscation of more than 360 dunams (nearly 89 acres) of land in the city of Biddya and Kafr ad-Dik town. These are located 9.5 kilometres (5.9 miles) west of Salfit.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements. These settlements have been built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. The international community regards the Israeli settler units in the occupied lands as illegal.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories through several resolutions. Resolution 2334 of United Nations Security Council pronounces settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds “a flagrant violation under international law. But all these have gone ignored by the Israeli regime.
ViewsWall World