[ad_1]
January 11, 2021
The Israeli government advanced on Monday the construction of new settlements in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the green light to plans to build 800 new homes, Reuters reported. The settlements are located in the West Bank, including in Itamar near Nablus and Beit El north of Jerusalem. Netanyahu said the settlements would receive final approval from the Defense Ministry next week, according to The Times of Israel.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority and much of the international community consider the settlements to be illegal. However, Israel disputes this, and the United States also does not consider the settlements illegal.
The news comes at an important time in both Israeli and American politics. Advancing construction could help Netanyahu bolster support among Jewish nationalist voters ahead of the March 23 elections in Israel.
The construction could also complicate the politics of President-elect Joe Biden after he takes office on January 20. Former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, criticized the construction of Israeli settlements. Biden has selected several Obama-era officials to serve on his cabinet. During the elections, Biden criticized Netanyahu for not being committed to peace, and also indicated that he will carry out a foreign policy similar to that of his former boss.
The Trump administration changed US policy on settlements when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that “they are not per se inconsistent with international law” in 2019. Last November, Pompeo became the first Secretary of State of the United States to visit an Israeli settlement when he went to Psagot. Also in November, the Pompeo State Department reversed US policy on labeling products made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, stating that they must be labeled “Made in Israel” before being shipped to the United States.
This is not the first time that Israel has approved a new construction at the end of US President Donald Trump’s term. Days after Biden’s victory in the November elections, the Israel Lands Authority invited companies to submit offers for construction in the disputed East Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Hamatos.
[ad_2]
