Israel plans to build 17,000 settlement units in Jerusalem: Palestinian Minister

A Palestinian official, on Thursday, said Israeli authorities are working to build more than 17,000 settlement units in different parts of Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, Jerusalem Affairs Minister, Fadi Al-Hadmi described the Israeli settlement plan as a “crazy tsunami.”

He said the acceleration in the construction of settlements through a series of projects eliminates “any possibility of a two-state solution.”

Al-Hadmi added: “The Israeli government is progressing toward implementing a series of major settlement projects in the north, south and east of the city, with the aim of isolating it completely from its Palestinian surroundings in the West Bank.”

The Palestinian Minister said the projects include a plan to build 10,000 housing units on the land of Jerusalem International Airport, in Qalandia, in the northern part of the city.

Israeli authorities also plan to construct 3,500 housing units within the E1 area in eastern Jerusalem, 1,250 units within the Givat Hamatos settlement, 2,000 in the French Hill settlement and 470 in the Pisgat Zeev settlement, he added.

“Since the beginning of this year, more than 140 buildings have been demolished in Jerusalem,” Al-Hadmi said, urging the international community to “transform its words into actions, and work to stop the settlement, annexation, demolition, displacement and forced eviction of the population, and to save the two-state solution before it is too late.”

READ: PA calls for blacklisting Israel settlements, settlers