Israel resumes settlement plans suspended prior to US president’s visit

An aerial view of a settlement as Masafer Yatta communities living in caves and makeshift buildings determined to remain in their land despite the Israeli court’s decision allowing the forced eviction, south of Hebron in West Bank on May 7, 2022 [Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency]

Israeli Interior Ministry’s District Planning Committee for Jerusalem on Monday advanced plans for more than 700 new illegal settlement units suspended due to US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, local media reported.

The committee also accepted the submission of a plan for 1,446 settlement units that would be located between the Jewish settlements of Har Homa and Givat Hamatos.

Israeli NGO Peace Now said that half of the project, known as the Lower Aqueduct Plan, is located over the Green Line, in a strategic part of the holy city, next to the area that borders Bethlehem.

Building such projects will drive a wedge between Bethlehem and nearby Palestinian neighbourhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, it added.

READ: Israel registers properties in occupied Jerusalem for Jewish settlers

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli Interior Ministry also debated a plan called Givat Shaked which included around 700 units and is located over the Green Line in that same area of the city, near the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Shuafat and Beit Safafa.

The plan was also suspended due to the Biden visit. The ministry requested more information about this plan before accepting its submission.

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