Israel approves construction of three settlements and thousands of homes in West Bank, read full news…
The Israeli government has approved 5,295 new housing units in several illegal settlements on the occupied West Bank, according to a monitoring group.
Along with this, three new settlements have also been recognized in the Palestinian territory. Israeli NGO Peace Now reported this move on Thursday. At the same time, a day earlier, the group said that the Israeli government has approved the largest land seizure on the West Bank in more than three decades.
Tension may increase after the decision
The new sanctions are now likely to further escalate tensions, as Palestinians in the occupied West Bank face increased attacks by the Israeli military and settlers, amid Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.
“Our government continues to change the rules of the game in the occupied West Bank, causing irreparable damage,” Peace Now said in a statement on Thursday, condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
More than 500,000 Israeli citizens live in more than 100 settlements in the West Bank. Their existence remains a major obstacle to plans outlined in the Oslo Accords, which promised a gradual transfer of Israeli-controlled territories to the Palestinians.
The approval of the new settlements comes just a day after Peace Now reported that so far this year Israel had declared some 23.7 square kilometers (9.15 square miles) of land in the occupied West Bank as its own, which the group described as an unprecedented rate.
This includes the approval of the confiscation of 12.7 square kilometers (4.9 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley late last month. Four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on Jenin in the West Bank, the ministry said
4 Palestinians killed in Israeli attack
Four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military attack on the West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces surrounded a building where the militants had barricaded themselves and that an Israeli aircraft struck targets in the area.
