Israel land grab gains momentum

Israel approved Wednesday the construction of 463 homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, the watchdog Peace Now said, drawing a sharp rebuke from the United States.
Washington said it was “deeply concerned” by the announcement, with a senior US official slamming the “pervasive advancement of settlement activity in a new and potentially unlimited way.”
The approvals mostly involved new housing units, but a retroactive green light was also granted to 179 existing homes in the Ofarim settlement.
Around 50 new units received final approval, while others were given preliminary authorization at different stages in the review process.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “continues to plan and build all over the West Bank, while also giving settlers the message that any construction done without planning will be retroactively legalized,” Peace Now said.
Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the UN Security Council on Monday that Israeli settlement expansion had surged in the past two months since a key report called for a halt.
The report by the diplomatic Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the UN and the United States — said construction of settlements on land earmarked to be part of a future Palestinian state is eroding the possibility of a two-state solution.

Source: Arab News