Israel authorities approve new West Bank settler homes: group

A general view of the Givat Hamatos Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem. Israeli authorities on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, advanced plans to build an additional 780 homes in West Bank settlements, in a last-minute surge of approvals before the friendly Trump administration leaves office later this week. (File/AP)
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  • Over 90% of the homes lay deep inside W.Bank, which Palestinians seek as the heartland of a future independent state
  • Netanyahu directed authorities to approve construction in the occupied territories

JERUSALEM: Israel on Sunday advanced plans for 780 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, settlement watchdog Peace Now said, adding the move puts Israel 鈥渙n a collision course鈥� with the incoming US administration.
Right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had last week directed authorities to approve construction of the units in occupied Palestinian territories.
That came less than two weeks before President Donald Trump鈥檚 pro-settler administration was due to leave office.
All Jewish settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal by much of the international community.
But Trump鈥檚 administration, breaking with decades of US policy, declared in 2019 that Washington no longer considered settlements as being in breach of international law.
US President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn on Wednesday, has indicated that his administration will restore Washington鈥檚 pre-Trump policy of opposing settlement expansion.

Peace Now, an Israeli civil society group that opposes the occupation, said that Israeli planning authorities had approved 鈥減lans to build 780 housing units in settlements, most of them deep in the West Bank.鈥�
鈥淣ot only will this settlement activity erode the possibility for a conflict-ending resolution with the Palestinians in the long-term, but in the short-term it needlessly sets Israel on a collision course with the incoming Biden administration,鈥� the group said.
A spokesperson for the European Union said the move was 鈥渃ontrary to international law and further undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution.鈥�
The EU statement called on Israel to 鈥渞everse these decisions on settlements and show leadership to rebuild trust and confidence between the parties, which is necessary for an eventual resumption of meaningful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.鈥�
Beyond the change in Washington, experts say Netanyahu also has domestic political reasons for pushing settlement expansion.
Electioneering is intensifying ahead of Israel鈥檚 March 23 poll, in which Netanyahu is expected to face a fierce right-wing challenge from Gideon Saar, a defector from the premier鈥檚 Likud party.
Saar, a prominent pro-settler voice, split with Likud late last year to challenge Netanyahu, Israel鈥檚 longest serving premier.
鈥淧rime Minister Netanyahu is once again putting his personal political interests over those of the country,鈥� Peace Now said.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six Day War.
Following years of settlement expansion, there are currently some 450,000 Jews living in the West Bank amid an estimated 2.8 million Palestinians.
Governments worldwide largely see settlements as illegal and an obstacle to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.