The Civil Administration is expected to approve over 2,000 residential units in West Bank settlements this week, as the United Nations announced on Sunday that 617 Palestinian buildings have been demolished since the beginning of 2019. The Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration will discuss granting validity to the Haresha outpost in the northern West Bank and an outpost and neighborhood of the town of Talmon including 258 residential units, some of which were already built illegally and will be made legal retroactively, according to Haaretz. Most of the residential units that will face approval by the council are still in their first stages of approval and haven’t faced legal opposition yet. 147 units in the town of Mitzpe Yericho, east of Jerusalem, will also be considered for approval before the council. These units are in more advanced stages of the approval process. 534 residential units and 12 industrial units in the town of Shiloh will also be discussed. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated in a report entitled “Protection of Civilians” that 617 structures have been demolished or seized throughout 2019, displacing 898 Palestinians, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. This represents a 35% increase in the number of demolitions and seizures and a 92% increase in the number of people displaced, according to the report. The report also noted that Israeli forces uprooted or chopped down about 2,500 trees and saplings during an operation east of Nablus. The trees served as a recreational area for residents of Beit Furik and Khirbat Tana nearby. 29 Palestinian buildings in Area C and east Jerusalem were also destroyed under the pretext that they were constructed without permits. According to the UN, Israel has advanced or approved plans for over 22,000 housing units in the West Bank.
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