The Israeli advocacy group Peace Now says authorities in Israel are scheduled to approve or advance the construction of more than 6,000 new housing units in dozens of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Two days of talks on the huge expansion plan are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday by Israel’s Higher Planning Committee, the defense body responsible for settlement planning, after which approval is expected, Peace Now said.
“It is clear that the primary goal of the current government, from its decisions to its actions, is the dismantling of any possibility for a political solution between Israelis and Palestinians,” the advocacy group said.
“Since the start of the war, the Israeli government has focused all its efforts on building, developing, and investing in construction across the West Bank,” it said.
“Ongoing settlement construction, along with the decision to establish new settlements deep in the West Bank and the transfer of planning powers from the army to [far-right Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich’s officials, will lead to disaster for Israel and the region,” the group added.
“This is a government without any public support, and it must be ousted in order to save us from total destruction and perpetual war.”
