Israel approves 181 settlement units in Jerusalem

Permission was granted for the construction of 181 new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem yesterday.

The Local Planning and Building Committee of the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem approved the new units to be built in the settlements of Gilo and Ramat Shlomo, Quds Net reported.

The decision came only two days after the Israeli Knesset passed a bill which retroactively legalised the building of settlements on private Palestinian lands.

Read: The international community is paralysed in the face of Israel’s colonial settlements

Meanwhile, the Israeli High Court gave the Israeli government an ultimatum to respond to the petition filed by local Palestinian organisations and human rights groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to repeal the law.

The petition noted that this law is unconstitutional and contradicts international humanitarian law, as well as violating the property rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.