Israel to build 800 new housing units in West Bank

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the construction of 800 new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu’s office revealed that 300 illegal units were approved to be constructed in Beit El settlement and another 500 units in East Jerusalem.

The decision comes after Israel’s High Court yesterday ordered the demolition of two structures built illegally in Beit El settlement.

The land on which the two buildings were constructed were seized from their original owner Abed Al-Rahman Qasem from the village of Dura Al-Qar’, under the pretext of security needs.

Later, the land became part of the illegal settlement and the two buildings were constructed on it, Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

Following Netanyahu’s decision, the Israeli coordinator of government operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Yoav Mordechai, signed a permit to sell the land for construction in the area in preparation for the construction of 296 housing units in Beit El, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported.

Netanyahu has also approved the sale of 91 housing units and planning for another 24 units in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement. He also approved the construction of 300 housing units in the illegal settlement of Ramot, 70 housing units in the illegal settlement of Gilo and 19 housing units in the illegal settlement of Har Homa in East Jerusalem.

Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett praised the prime minister’s decision calling it “a Zionist response. This is the way in which we build our country.”