Watchdog: Israel announces new plans to build settlements on Palestinian land

Peace Now, a settlement watchdog group, said the Israeli government plans to build up to 1,200 new homes in an illegal East Jerusalem settlement.

Israeli forces patrol as a Palestinian building is demolished in the village of Sur Baher that sits on either side of the Israeli barrier in East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank [File: Mussa Qawasma/Reuters]

According to Peace Now, the Israel Land Authority government agency opened up tenders today for contruction of new homes in Givat Hamatos, East Jerusalem, via its website.

Peace Now's spokesperson, Brian Reeves, said contractors are scheduled to start bidding on the tenders soon and could start construction before U.S President-elect Joe Biden gets into office. There's a wide view in Israel that delaying the bidding process until the former vice president gets into office, could jeopardize Israel's ambition for expansion, given Biden's stance against settlements.

“This is a lethal blow to the prospects for peace,” Peace Now said in a statement, adding Israel is “taking advantage of the final weeks of President Donald Trump’s administration in order to set facts on the ground that will be exceedingly hard to undo."

If the planned constructions go through, Palestinian claimed city, Bethlehem, and the West Bank, could be cut off from East Jerusalem.

“This is a continuation of the current Israeli government policy in destroying the two-state solution,” said Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

By: Niza Nondo