Israel approves 300 new settler homes in occupied West Bank, US ‘deeply concerned’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the “immediate” construction of 300 settler homes in the West Bank. The approval came after the Israeli High Court earlier upheld a demolition order for two structures being built illegally in the Beit El settlement.
Western nations have called on Israel to halt such projects as Settlements in the West Bank are viewed as major impediments to peace negotiations with Palestinians.
Palestinian did not immediately react to the announcement.
“The United States continues to view the settlements as illegitimate and we strongly oppose steps to advance construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, ” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
“Settlement expansion threatens the two-state solution and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a negotiated resolution to the conflict.”
The relations between Israel and the United States, particularly over the recent nuclear deal with Iran are already strained .
According to the statement from Mr Netanyahu’s office the 300 units in the West Bank had been promised three years ago following the demolition of other homes in the Beit El settlement.
“The immediate construction of 300 homes in Beit El has been authorized, ” The statement said, adding that planning for another 504 homes in annexed East Jerusalem had also been approved.
Read more about: Arab–Israeli conflict, Asia, Beit El, Benjamin Netanyahu, Districts of Israel, East Jerusalem, Fertile Crescent, Israel, Israel–United States relations, Israeli High Court, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Jerusalem Governorate, occupied, politics, Prime Minister, settler homes, United States, West Bank
West Bank ?, Really ? .. Soon you people will be calling the
Land of Israel the East Bank. Judea & Samaria is disputed territories, not
occupied. In fact, most other disputed territories around the world are not
referred to as being occupied by the party that controls them. This is true,
for example, of the hotly contested regions of Kashmir, Cyprus, and Tibet. Yet
rarely does the international community make a fuss over these territories. Occupation
typically refers to foreign control of an area that was under the previous
sovereignty of another state. In the case of the Judea & Samaria,
there was no legitimate sovereign because the territory had been illegally
occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967. Upon Israel’s taking control of
the area in 1967, the 1907 Hague Rules on Land Warfare and the Fourth Geneva
Convention (1949) were not considered applicable to the West Bank (Judea and
Samaria) territory, as the Kingdom of Jordan, prior to 1967, was never the
prior legal sovereign, and in any event has since renounced any claim to
sovereign rights via-a-vis the territory. Who is really the occupiers ? Jews
have a history in Judea & Samaria dating back from time immemorial. For
instance, Shechem, otherwise known as Nablus, has Jewish history dating back to
Abraham. Shechem was the first place that Abraham set foot in when he arrived
in Israel. Shechem is also the city where Jacob and his family settled after
returning from Paddam Aram. Almost all of the Arab localities in Judea &
Samaria have retained biblical Jewish names, thus betraying the true Jewish
roots in the area. According to the historian Benny Morris, in ancient
times, “The core of the Jewish state was the hill country of Judea, Samaria,
and Galilee. BTW Judea is where the name Jew comes from..
Israel you must take back all the land God gave you. If you would of obeyed God when he first gave you the land and killed all of the canaanites you wouldn’t be having these problems….