The Palestinian Authority on Friday condemned Israel’s approval of 500 new settler homes and retroactive approval of 200 more in the northern West Bank.

The settlement expansion in Shilo, near Nablus, and the legalizing of nearby settler outpost Shvut Rahel, announced Wednesday, is a "stark indication of Israel’s policy to continue occupying the West Bank," a statement from the Government Media Center said.

"Shilo is located in the heart of the West Bank and is not even one of the settlements near the Green Line that Israel usually expands on the pretext of an eventual land swap — which is also unacceptable."
 
Palestinian officials insist they cannot return to negotiations with Israel while the state continues to build on occupied Palestinian lands, that are necessary for a viable Palestinian state.

The PA statement continued: "While the Israeli government tirelessly talks about wanting peace and returning to the negotiations table, it is aggressively working on preventing any of the fundamental issues to be negotiated through irreversible facts that obliterate the viability of the two-state solution and the creation of the state of Palestine on 1967 territories."

It called on the international community to see through Israel’s statements and take note of its actions.

(Ma’an News)