Group: Israel advances Jewish settlement plans in West Bank
An Israeli settlement watchdog group says Israel has advanced plans to build or retroactively approve 1,065 housing units in West Bank Jewish settlements.
The settlements are built on land the Palestinians claim for a future state. Most countries consider them illegitimate. Peace Now said on Thursday that an Israeli military committee retroactively approved 24 housing units in the Beit El settlement, though Israel's Supreme Court ordered them demolished by the end of July because they were built on private Palestinian lands. In total, the group said, the Israeli military Wednesday approved 541 new housing units, retroactively legalized 228 existing housing units, and approved infrastructure for a plan that includes 296 housing units. The military also approved the construction of two industrial structures, a Jewish religious school and a winery.
