Israel’s plan to build 1,300 residences in West Bank worries UN official
Tel Aviv, Oct 25 (UNI/Sputnik): UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, expressed deep concern on Monday over Israel’s intention to construct more than 1,300 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
“I am deeply concerned by continued Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. I reiterate that all settlements are illegal under international law, remain a substantial obstacle to peace, and must cease immediately,” Wennesland said in a statement published on Twitter.
On Sunday, the Haaretz newspaper reported that Israeli authorities opened bidding on the construction of more than 1,300 housing units in the Jewish settlements of the West Bank for the first time since the administration of US President Joe Biden. A total of 1,355 housing units will be built, of which 729 are to be in Ariel, 324 in Beit El, 102 in Elkan.
Settlement activities in the West Bank, where nearly 600,000 Israelis already live, are considered to be one of the main obstacles in the search for peace with the Palestinians, who perceive it as a policy of consolidating the Jewish state in the occupied territories.
