Israel advanced plans for 5,700 new settler homes in the West Bank on Monday, in a move that is likely to only heighten tensions with the United States which has already strenuously objected to such unilateral actions.
The move comes just one week after a Palestinian gunman killed four Israeli at a gas station outside the Eli settlement in the Binyamin region of the West Bank.
27% of the homes detailed in the plans, which totals 1,563 units, are slated for the Eli settlement, including plans that would legalize three outposts as new neighborhoods within the community’s municipal lines.
These outposts are: Palegi Maim, HaYovel and Nof Harim outposts.
Yesha Council head Shlomo Ne’eman lauded the move, stating that it was “the most appropriate Zionist answer to all those who seek to harm us.”
Samaria mountains 521 (credit: ITSIK MAROM)Final approval to only 818 of the homes
The Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria which advanced the plans on Monday gave their final approval to only 818 of the homes, while the remainder of the plans were deposited for further consideration.
This means the committee will need to review them again before they can be finalized.
The final tally of homes contained in the plans was published by both the left-wing NGO Peace Now and the Yesha Council.
Peace Now said that when the council last met in February it advanced plans for 7,382 homes, adding that to date the final tally of homes whose plans the council has pushed forward this year is 13,082 units.
“The Israeli government is pushing us at an unprecedented pace towards the full annexation of the West Bank,” Peace Now stated.
The United States expressed frustration
The move comes just one day after the US expressed its frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s West Bank settlement activity by reversing a Trump-era policy that went into effect in October 2020, just months before US President Joe Biden was sworn into office.
It reinstalled a ban on US government cooperation with Israeli entities located over the pre-1967 lines east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Among the plans given final approvals were: for 359 in Elkana and 381 in Revava. Out of those plans given an initial nod were: 714 in Givat Ze’ev; 340 in Ma’ale Adumim; 312 in Beitar Illit; 310 in Adora; 264 in Etz Efraim and 152 in Ma’ale Amos.
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