Mr. Mladenov also said that Israel has undertaken a land survey on the outskirts of Bethlehem for the establishment of a new settlement in a move that would contribute to the “dismemberment of the southern West Bank”.
Advertisement
“These policies have effectively given the government’s green light for the pervasive advancement of settlement activity in a new and potentially unlimited way”.
Around 50 new units received final approval, while others were given preliminary authorisation at different stages in the review process.
One night in the fall of 1998, a self-professed “outpost entrepreneur” brought three trailers to a rugged hilltop in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and established his first pirate settlement. The decision came two days after senior United Nations envoy Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement to the Security Council that a surge in such building, which most countries view as illegal, presents a major obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.
In addition, 179 building permits were issued retroactively, legalising under Israeli law housing units that were erected in the settlement of Ofarim, Peace Now said.
Settlements are considered illegal under worldwide law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land Palestinians see as part of their future state.
In response, Netanyahu’s office called criticism of Israeli settlement building “absurd”, particularly related to east Jerusalem.
The Palestinians see east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, as the capital of their future state.
“The claim that it is illegal for Jews to build in Jerusalem is as absurd as saying Americans can’t build in Washingtonor the French can’t build in Paris”, Netanyahu spokesman David Keyes said in response to Mladenov’s comments.
The US has long held that settlement construction is detrimental to the chances of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians, a charge that Israel rejects.
Advertisement
The US said it was “deeply concerned” and warned that settlement expansion posed a “very serious and growing threat” to peace with the Palestinians.
