Israel to authorise building 1,000 homes for Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Israel is set to approve 1,000 housing units for Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Ministry of Defence told The Times of Israel today.

In comparison, the Israeli Ministry of Defence said last week it would approve the construction of some 4,000 settlement units in illegal Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The projects for both the Palestinians and the Israeli settlers will be located in Area C, where Israel imposes military control.

According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli government has notified the Biden administration of its move to authorise plans for Palestinians.

The Biden Administration, on Friday, condemned Israeli plans to advance the construction of 4,000 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, saying the measure “deeply damages the prospects for a two-state solution.”

“The Biden Administration has been clear on this from the outset. We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements which exacerbates tensions and undermines trust between the parties,” said State Department deputy spokeswoman, Jalina Porter. “Israel’s program of expanding settlements deeply damages the prospects for a two-state solution.”

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There are over 700,000 illegal Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.

Meanwhile, Palestinians are prohibited from making any structural changes or building any new structure in so-called Area C without an Israeli permit, which is almost impossible to obtain.

The Oslo II Accord, signed in 1995, divided the occupied West Bank into three zones: Area A under Palestinian nominal control; Area B under Israeli security control and Palestinian civil and administrative nominal control and Area C under Israeli civil, administrative and security control. Area C covers around 60 per cent of the West Bank.