In a clear message to the next US administration, which will, presumably, be headed by Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, the Israeli government has decided to approve the construction of 108 homes in the illegal Jewish settlement of Ramat Shlomo.
In March 2010, the announcement that Israel intended to build in Ramat Shlomo, located in occupied East Jerusalem, was a cause of dispute between the Israeli government and the Obama Administration, especially as the Israeli decision was timed to coincide with a visit by then-Vice President Joe Biden.
#Netanyahu Responds to #Biden’s Victory by Announcing New #Settlement near #Gaza https://t.co/5rnvqHF7iT via @PalestineChron #Israel pic.twitter.com/BMo0ewUkyD
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 9, 2020
Now that Biden is slated to be the next US President, the government of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to expand the settlement, thus making a point that it does not intend to cease or slow down illegal Jewish settlement construction in the Occupied Territories.
On Thursday, a senior Palestinian official said that Israel is ‘racing against time’ to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, told reporters that Israel is preparing plans to build thousands of housing units in Jewish settlements throughout the Occupied Territories.
In addition to the expansion of Ramat Shlomo, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has also “approved the legalization of 1,700 housing units in West Bank settlements,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
