The Defense Ministry committee which is responsible for the planning and overseeing of construction projects has recently approved an “Israel housing project” of over 5,000 housing settlements to be built in West Bank and East Jerusalem. Planning of the construction of the homes is still in the early stages, the date of construction has not yet been formally announced.
Also Read: Plans for Construction of 3,365 Settlement Units in Jerusalem, Israel, Approved
Backlash regarding the West Bank, East Jerusalem Project.
Israeli settlements within the West Bank as well as East Jerusalem are forbidden and are illegal according to international law, they are not acknowledged as part of Israel and should not be constructed as this region is under Palestine’s jurisdiction. Despite this, Israel has expanded its current existing settlements in the area and plans to construct more in the future. Since 1967 Israel has built hundreds of illegal settlements within the territory and recent data states that over 700,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem region.
In response to the new approval of the plans, a Palestinian government official labelled this an “open war against the Palestinian people” and continued to state that “all settler colonialism………. Is illegitimate and illegal”. The plans have been pushed at a fast pace and haven’t seemed to be wavered by the rising concerns that have been highlighted by various government officials and commentators. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry called the plan a violation of international law and was worried about the rise of violence in the West Bank, which includes the recent Israeli air strikes.
The Israel, United States primary international ally shunned the choice to approve the development in the West Bank and East Jerusalem stating they were “deeply troubled” by the advancement. They have not taken any immediate action to put an end to the West Bank, East Jerusalem construction project, however, they did announce that they shall suspend any cooperation financial and otherwise for any scientific, technological and technical projects in the Israeli settlements in the area for the time being.
Despite the noise around the project the plans for the construction are still underway and the backlash surrounding the project seems to have not interfered with the progress of the construction.
