The Cradle, November 24, 2022 — The units will be built in the Efrat settlement, which entails the illegal displacement of hundreds of Palestinians in the south of the city of Bethlehem.
According to the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), Israeli authorities ratified plans to construct hundreds of new settler units in the occupied central West Bank, despite pushback from the international and Palestinian communities.
Local reports disclosed that the units would be constructed in the Efrat settlement, which entails the illegal displacement of hundreds of Palestinians in the south of the city of Bethlehem.
PIC reports added that the construction plan includes the establishment of the new settlement, which will have 7,000 units in Bethlehem.
At the end of last month, Israel announced that they are seeking to confiscate 616,000 square meters of West Bank land from Palestinians, violating international law. All Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are deemed illegal.
Last week, incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to legalize dozens of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Netanyahu and his Lukid party have consistently undermined Palestine’s sovereignty; however, experts suggest that there is no guarantee that the request will pass, given that the proposal needs a certain number of votes from the Knesset to be implemented.
A few days prior, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved a plan to construct a 100-kilometer-long wall in the occupied West Bank.
Israel believed the structure would bolster national security, and it was approved after months of deadly attacks on Palestinians by Israeli forces.
Israel began construction in 2001 to divide Palestinian communities, obliterating agricultural land in the West Bank as part of the construction process. Palestinians refer to it as an “apartheid wall.”
Several Palestinian towns have been isolated due to the construction of the wall, which severely restricts Palestinian freedom of movement and blocks thousands of Palestinians from visiting family members and accessing social services, schools, and agriculture.