Israeli settlements

Construction of 3500 apartments in the West Bank approved

Jewish settlements in the West Bank(Bild: AFP/APA/AHMAD GHARABLI)

Israeli authorities have approved the construction of around 3,500 apartments in the occupied West Bank. This is said to be a reaction to a Palestinian terrorist attack on a highway near Jerusalem around two weeks ago. The settlements are illegal under international law.

According to paramedics, at least one Israeli was killed and several people were injured, some of them seriously. The perpetrators who were killed in the attack were Palestinians, according to the Israeli secret service. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich then demanded that more than 3,000 additional homes be built in the occupied West Bank. Now the responsible authority has actually approved 3476 new housing units, reported the newspaper "Haaretz."

Israeli settlers in the West Bank(Bild: APA/AFP/Menahem KAHANA)

"Path for our destruction"
Criticism of the plan came from the Israeli human rights organization Peace Now, among others, on Platform X. "Instead of building a future full of hope, peace and security, the Israeli government is paving the way for our destruction," it says. Since the right-wing government took office at the end of 2022, more new Israeli housing units have been approved than at any time since 2012.

Here you can see the tweet from Peace Now.

In 1967, Israel's military conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where more than 7,000 settlers now live among around three million Palestinians. The people of Palestine are demanding the territories for their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Obstacle to a peace solution?
The United Nations considers the settlements to be a major obstacle to a peace settlement because they would hardly allow for a contiguous territory in a possible two-state solution. The UN Security Council already called on Israel to implement a complete settlement freeze in the occupied territories at the end of 2016.