The Jewish National Fund (JNF) has officially approved plans to expand illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, local media reported on Monday.
According to Haaretz, though, the JNF is still to approve the purchase of private Palestinian land in Area C of the occupied territory, potentially for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Jewish National Fund policy on settlement activity in West Bank is rejected https://t.co/ry6pHixtzO
— Joe Catron 🇵🇸 #ICC4Israel (@jncatron) February 16, 2021
Such purchases, explained Walla news website, would be used for the development of existing Jewish settlements in Area C.
The JNF was established in 1901 to raise funds to buy land in Palestine and build Jewish settlements. By 2007, it owned 13 percent of the total land in Israel for the use of Jews exclusively.
Opposition arises to Jewish National Fund's policy on settlement activity https://t.co/9ltPdCuxrR
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 16, 2021
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
Under international law, Jewish settlements constructed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories constitute a violation of international law and are considered illegal.
(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)
