Israel approves 400 settlement units in West Bank

Israeli Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, today approved plans for 400 new settlement units for the illegal Israeli settlement of Adam southeast of the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah.

17-year-old Muhammad Tareq Youssef Abu Ayyush was shot dead by an illegal Israeli settler in the illegal settlement of Adam near occupied Ramallah, West Bank, on 26 July 2018

Lieberman approved the further expansion of the Adam hours after a 17-year-old Palestinian was shot and killed by a settler in the occupied West Bank.

According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, in the year and a half since US President Donald Trump took office some 14,454 settlement units have been approved in the occupied West Bank, more than three times the amount that was approved in the year and half before his inauguration (4,476 units).

Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.

The estimated 196 government recognised Israeli settlements scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered illegal under international law.