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Knesset Approves 13 Million Shekels For Colonial Settlements
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Israeli settlers control nearly half of Palestinian territories through strategic placement colonial settlements |
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, May 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – The Finance
Committee of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Tuesday, May 28,
approved the transfer of 13 million Israeli shekels (U.S. $2.7
million) for settlement expenses.
Israeli
daily newspaper, Ha’aretz, reported Wednesday, May 29, that 7
million shekels would be used for the construction of 14 housing units
in the territories, 3 million for the development of infrastructure in
the Tel Zion settlements, and 3 million for the construction of
six housing units in the Golan Heights.
Earlier in May, the Israeli government approved the construction of
nearly 1,000 new houses in colonial settlements near Jerusalem, a move
which triggered protests from left-wing and Palestinian groups.
The
957 proposed houses, within established communities, will expand five
settlements to cover for what the government described as the
"natural growth" of the existing population, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
According
to AFP, more than 200,000 settlers live in about 160 settlements,
built following the 1967 war, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In
addition to that number, there are a dozen settlements in annexed east
Jerusalem.
Despite
the approval of the unprecedented number of homes, the left-wing Labor
party did not oppose it. This is because the settlements are in an
area which both left-wing Labor and its right-wing coalition partner,
Likud, agree should not be affected by a final accord with the
Palestinians, AFP said.
Defending
the establishment of more settlements, Ezra Rosenfeld, spokesman for
the Settlers' Council, said that most of these units will be in areas
over which there is consensus among the parties, adding that an
additional 1,000 homes would make "no difference
politically," AFP reported.
On
May 14, a detailed new map of the West Bank, released by the B'Tselem
center for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, shows
that Israeli settlers exert control over nearly half of Palestinian
territories through a strategic placement of a few Jewish colonial
settlements.
The study shows that the Jewish settlements occupy 1.7 percent of the
West Bank territory, where Palestinians want to create their own
state. This was based on previously unpublished documents collected
from Israeli municipal officials over the past nine months.
Through
a controversial policy overseen by the defense ministry, Israel has
also set up special buffer zones around the settlements from which
Palestinians are barred - and where new colonial settlements may be
established, the report said.
These
zones make up 41.9 percent of the West Bank's territory according to
the B'Tselem survey. They further splinter the West Bank into segments
and isolate major Palestinian towns.
"This is not a coincidence – this is the intended government
policy," said B'Tselem executive director Jessica Montell.
The
B'Tselem study shows the settlement population doubling since the 1993
Oslo accords that established the Palestinian Authority, reaching some
380,000 people.
"The location of these settlements impedes the creation of
territorial continuity of the Palestinian state," said the
study's author, Yehezkel Lein.
"This makes it impossible to establish a Palestinian state that
has anything resembling a viable economy."
Last
month, the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) adopted a resolution
expressing grave concern at continuing Israeli settlement activities,
including the expansion of existing settlements.
"All
these actions are illegal, constitute a violation of the Geneva
Convention relative to these protection of civilians in time of war
and are a major obstacle to peace," the resolution said.
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