Israel approves 436 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the construction of 454 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem, Haaretz revealed on Tuesday.

The newspaper reported that Netanyahu gave the go-ahead for the expansion of two illegal settlement-colonies. Ramot and Ramot Shlomo are built on land belonging to the Palestinian towns of Shuafat and Beit Hanina, as well as the displaced village of Lifta in East Jerusalem.

According to Haaretz, the decision to build the new housing units in the two settlements had been put on hold ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington last week, but he gave the green light for the construction upon his return.

The Jerusalem Municipality’s Planning and Building Committee had approved the construction of a new settlement area to include 891 housing units in the south-west Jerusalem settlement of Gilo, which is built on the occupied lands of Beit Jala, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Supreme Council for Planning and Building, part of the civil administration of the Israel Defence Forces, has approved a plan that includes the development of the Ma’aleh Mikhmas settlement east of Ramallah in the centre of the occupied West Bank. The decision will result in thousands of housing units being added to the existing illegal units in that district.