Israel Builds 2,300 Illegal Settlements in West Bank

Tel Aviv, MINA – Israeli non-governmental organization Peace Now announced that Tel Aviv is developing plans to build 2,300 illegal settlementss in the West Bank.

In a statement on Tuesday, August 6, the organization said that Israeli Planning Committee affiliated with Ministry of Defense had approved that plan.

Peace Now added that the plan was part of Israeli Government’s policy of seeking to annex some or all of the West Bank and stop the peace process based on a two-state solution, Anadolu Agency reported.

Israeli government under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently stepped up efforts to build more illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, especially since the US President, Donald Trump took office in 2017.

Under the 1995 Oslo Agreement between Israel and Palestinian Authority (PA), the West Bank including East Jerusalem is divided into Areas A, B and C.

Area A is under the administrative and security control of Palestinian Authority (PA), Area B is under PA administrative control and Israeli security control, while Area C is under Israeli administrative and security control.

During this time, Israel prevented Palestinians from carrying out construction projects in Area C.

Area C is currently inhabited by around 300,000 Palestinians, most of them are Bedouins and herdsmen who live in tents, caravans, and caves.

International law views the entire West Bank region as “occupied territory” and considers all Israeli settlement buildings there to be illegal. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)