Israel Approves Construction of 1,950 Settlement Homes in West Bank

NGO: 89% of construction is in settlements that may be evacuated in peace deal

According to anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, Israel has approved another 1,950 settlement homes to be constructed across the occupied West Bank. The construction was approved on Sunday and Monday.

The approvals came in two chunks. 800 units were given final approval for the construction, while the other 1,150 were given initial approval to start the process. Settlements often have to go through several stages of approval before being occupied.

Peace Now warned that of the new units, 89% of them are in settlements which Israel may have to evacuate under a future peace agreement with Palestine. This suggests the other settlements are in East Jerusalem or in the main bloc nearby.

Peace Now was particularly critical over the moves, coming amid a caretaker government with Israel’s latest election ending indecisively. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has all but ruled out peace with the Palestinians, which is likely why settlement construction is in territory that would be Palestinian in a deal.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.