Israel announces plans for hundreds of new settlement units

Despite the recent pledge made at the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit to suspend new settlement units, the Israeli occupation government issued tenders for 1,029 settlement units, Israeli rights group Peace Now revealed on Friday.

According to Peace Now, the tenders were issued for 940 new settlement units in the illegal settlements of Efrat and Beitar Illit, and 89 in East Jerusalem.

“This is yet another harmful and unnecessary construction initiative, as part of the messianic coup that is unfolding alongside the regime coup,” Peace Now indicated.

“The most extreme right-wing government in the history of the country is not only trampling on democracy but also on the possibility of a future political agreement, and on our relations with the US and friendly countries,” the leftist rights group added.

Peace Now stressed that “lies and violations” of the commitments made just a couple of days ago “are a sure way to turn Israel into an isolated country.”

The rights group pointed to the Israeli pledge made during the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan and the US on 19 March, noting that it was decided to halt construction for four months in an attempt to calm tensions.

“Despite Israel’s commitments to its allies around the world, it appears to continue promoting construction that harms the chances for a political agreement and increases tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in both the short and long term,” the group concluded.

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