'Israel' delays approval of 4,000 West Bank settlements
The Israeli occupation's plans to build further settlements in the occupied West Bank have been stopped dead in their tracks for a while, and the reason is unknown.
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An Israeli settler walks past settlement construction sites around Givat Zeev and Ramat Givat Zeev in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Al-Quds June 30, 2020 (Reuters)
The plan to build 4,000 Israeli settlement units is yet to be approved by security minister Benny Gantz, the Yesha Council, an Israeli organization that handles the affairs of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The West Bank settlement councils had already approved the plan, and it entails a gradual increase in the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank, and that increase includes some 4,000 units that would be built on Palestinian soil, in violation of international law.
For the plan to become a morbid reality for Palestinians, Israeli occupation Security Minister Benny Gantz must approve it, and his lack of approval has been met with heavy criticism from the representatives of the settlements, accusing him of "playing politics" at their expense.
Yesha Council Chairman David Elhayani claimed there was a "growing need" for settlements as the Israeli settlers increase in occupied Palestine in a bid to undermine the Arabhood of the country.
There are about half a million Israeli settlers living in the occupied Palestinian territories, and many even want to move there, Elhayani added, not taking into consideration the rights and needs of the Palestinians as they uproot them from their lands.
"The government doesn't have the right to exist," Elhayani said after Gantz seemed to ignore the demands of settlement officials and postponed the construction plans for months.
This comes in light of warnings and calls for the Israeli occupation to stop expanding its settlements in occupied Palestine, as the Israeli occupation has long been approving plans for building more settlements in spite of calls for halting the process.
The Israeli occupation's decision could be over fears of an escalation from Palestine to defend their rights to their land.
Hamas Spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou warned against the repercussions of Israeli occupation authorities' approval of the construction of 1,200 housing units in the "Kiryat Yuval" settlement in occupied Al-Quds.
