JERUSALEM: Israel has advanced plans for more than 3,000 homes in West Bank settlements this week, despite US President Donald Trump’s call to hold back on such projects as he seeks ways to restart peace efforts.
A total of 3,178 housing units were advanced in a number of different settlements, the Peace Now NGO that tracks settlement growth told on Thursday.
They are the first new settlement announcements since Trump’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories last month, when he tried to encourage both sides back to the negotiating table.
On Tuesday, a defence ministry planning committee advanced 1,500 units, while more than 900 more were added on Wednesday, Peace Now said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned the plan for the new housing units. Settlements are considered illegal under international law and are seen as a major obstacle to peace and the so-called two state solution — the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
While the majority of the planned homes are in pre-existing settlements, some will be built in the first new official settlement in some 25 years, Peace Now said.
“Netanyahu has been trying to hold back but he has been under very strong pressure from the settlement movement,†Ofer Zalzberg of the International Crisis Group think tank said. Zalzberg said more settlement announcements could push the two sides further apart. “It is becoming more difficult to square the circle to get negotiations going,†he said.