By Ori Lewis
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced plans on
Tuesday for 2,500 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the
second such declaration since U.S. President Donald Trump took office
signaling he would be less critical of such projects than his
predecessor.
A statement from the Defence Ministry, which
administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the move was meant
to fulfill demand for new housing "to maintain regular daily life".
Most of the construction, it said, would be in
existing settlement blocs that Israel intends to keep under any future
peace agreement with the Palestinians. However, a breakdown provided by
the prime minister's office showed large portions of the planned homes
would be outside existing blocs.
About 350,000 settlers live in the West Bank and a
further 200,000 in East Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967
Middle East war. Beyond the major blocs, most of which are close to the
border with Israel, there are more than 100 settlement outposts
scattered across hilltops in the West Bank.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the Israeli announcement and said it
would have "consequences".
"The decision will hinder any attempt to restore
security and stability, it will reinforce extremism and terrorism and
will place obstacles in the path of any effort to start a peace process
that will lead to security and peace," he said.
They want the
West Bank and Gaza Strip, from which Israeli troops and settlers
withdrew in 2005, for an independent state, with its capital in East
Jerusalem.
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