Israel cabinet to vote on approval of building 10 new settlements in Negev

The Israeli government will vote on Sunday on whether or not to approve the construction of ten new Jewish only settlements in the Negev, a statement reported by local media said.

The statement was issued jointly by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Construction Minister Ze’ev Elkin.

Arab48 said that Israeli governments approve mega housing projects for Jews who come from abroad while they have been refusing to issue building permissions for a very few number of Arabs whose families have been living in the region for hundreds of years.

The Jerusalem Post said that five new settlements would be built near the city of Arad. This, the Israeli daily said, comes in addition to the Haredi settlement of Kassif that was authorised last week.

Reports also said that five other settlements would be built on the road between Beersheba and Dimona in the Negev.

READ: Israel expands settlement to further isolate Jerusalem

“This historic and exciting decision has strategic and national importance in strengthening the settlement of the Negev,” Shaked said. “Creating 10 new communities [settlements] is Zionism in all its glory.”

Meanwhile, Elkin claimed, according to the Jerusalem Post, the new settlement projects would enhance security in the region, strengthen the region’s economy and encourage Israelis to move to the Negev from the centre of the country.

Palestinian Bedouin in the Negev (Naqab) have faced the threat of forcible displacement for decades, with their land being seized and their homes levelled by Israeli occupation forces.