A new report has revealed that Israel’s construction of illegal settlements on Palestinian land increased by 62 percent under the government led by far-right Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, since it came to power in June 2021, The New Arab reported.
The report was compiled by Peace Now, an NGO and activist group in Israel that promotes the two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
In 2021 there were only 10 building permits granted for Palestinians, compared to 1,448 housing units that started to be built in the settlements in the second half of 2021 only (and 2,526 in the entirety of the year). pic.twitter.com/NmvcuU5E3x
— Peace Now (@peacenowisrael) June 24, 2022
It also stated that the planning of new settlements had increased by 26 percent and that the government had approved the construction of 1,550 housing units in settlements in a year, an increase of 15 percent from the previous Netanyahu government.
The report adds that the government planned or built new illegal settlements in sensitive areas in an attempt to harm any development for the Palestinians.
These include a new settlement in Hebron (Al-Khalil) for the first time in 40 years and an expansion of a ‘national park’ around Jerusalem’s Old City, meant to further marginalize Palestinians who live there.
At the moment of its dissolution, this was the policy that the so-called 'government of change' furthered:
This government deepened the settlement project and the dispossession and oppression of the Palestinian people.
Read our new report here:https://t.co/cEkUQoDyUS
— Peace Now (@peacenowisrael) June 24, 2022
The Bennett government has also demolished 639 structures in “Area C” – land that is under direct Israeli military control – and another 189 in illegally annexed East Jerusalem, removing 604 and 450 Palestinians respectively from their homes.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Jewish settlers repeatedly attack Palestinian civilians and damage their property. Peace Now’s report reveals that settler violence against Palestinians has risen from 20 incidents a month to 29 under Bennett’s government.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
