Israel to build over 4,000 housing units in West Bank

Jerusalem: Israel is considering a plan to build 4,560 housing units in various parts of the West Bank. The government on Sunday tabled the plans to approve the building permits in the occupied region.

The Supreme Planning Council will meet next week to consider the 1,332 plans for final approval. Others are still going through the preliminary clearance process. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the government will continue to develop the settlement and strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory. He also holds the defence portfolio which makes him crucial in West Bank administration.

Jewish settler groups in West Bank welcomed the move. "The people have chosen to continue building in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, and that is the way it should be," said Shlomo Ne'eman, mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council. Judea and Samaria are Israel's biblical names for the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, since coming to power in January 2023, has approved the promotion of over 7,000 new housing units, and most of them are deep in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, which is in charge of West Bank, said it will boycott the meeting of the Joint Economic Committee with Israel scheduled for Monday. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which is in charge of Gaza, condemned the move and said it will not give Israel legitimacy over the land and people will resist by all means, reported Reuters.

Israel's presence in the West Bank is one of the fundamental issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The land was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War. Most countries deem the settlements occupation and Palestinians are seeking to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The US has been brokering peace talks but they have been frozen since 2014. Washington is also against the settlement expansion because it is an obstacle to peace.