Advocacy Group: Israel to Expand Settlements

The Civic Coalition for Defending Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ) Tuesday said in a statement that Israeli newspapers published tenders for the expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.  It said th tenders included building 117 housing units in Har Homa settlement in Jabal Abu Ghneim, south of Jerusalem, as well as expansion of Giv'at Hazit settlement in East Jerusalem. The tenders also included expansion in Har Adar settlement, southwest of Jerusalem, and the building of 213 housing units in Efrat settlement, south of Bethlehem, added the statement. It said the Israeli newspapers announced the construction of several industrial projects in a number of settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. CCDPRJ stressed that such announcements fall under the Israeli de facto policy and convey defiance message to the US administration, the Quartet and the world that Israel will continue in its illegal settlement policy despite urgent calls against it.