Israeli settlers have begun building new homes at an extraordinary pace since the government lifted its moratorium on West Bank housing starts – almost 550 in three weeks, more than four times faster than the last two years.
In an extensive report Thursday morning, the Associated Press wrote that many of the homes are going up in areas that under practically any peace scenario would become part of a Palestinian state, a trend that could doom US-brokered peace talks.
According to the AP's count, ground has been broken on 544 new West Bank homes since Sept. 26, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lifted a 10-month freeze on new settlement building.
The survey, while not comprehensive, marks the most extensive effort yet to quantify the construction. It was based on visits to 16 of the West Bank's more than 120 settlements as well as phone calls to more than four dozen settlements and interviews with construction workers and mayors.
"This figure is alarming and is another indicator that Israel is not serious about the peace process, which is supposed to be about ending the occupation," said Ghassan Khatib, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' self-rule government in the West Bank.
Netanyahu has played down the new construction, saying it "has no real effect on the map of a possible (peace) agreement." (ynetnews)
May we continue to build in ALL parts of Israel.
Get a Free Phone when you visit Israel!
Ask your travel agent for details, or click here to learn more.
Ask your travel agent for details, or click here to learn more.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
8 comments:
It just shows how stupid they are. If they had any sense they wouldn't mind some nice cities being built up and handed over to them for free.
When they get our property, do they ransack it because they like imagining that we're ch"v still inside, or is it because they could never see themselves living in an ordinary Jewish house anyway?
""This figure is alarming and is another indicator that Israel is not serious about the peace process..."
Hehe, but the kasams that are lobbed at Israel ARE an indication of how serious the Palestinians are, right? Oooo, wait, I forgot, Israel is the aggressor.
its obviously good news for Israel
Clearly not. But it is "obviously good news" for you and your readers.
Clearly not. But it is "obviously good news" for you and your readers.
Clearly not. I am an integregal part of Israel.
And its good news.
Unless of course, you think Jews shouldn't be able to live in Judea and Samaria.
"Any chance that Jews could build so many settlements they outnumber the Palestinians "
Yes, but you have to move there first.
This isn't so impressive, since it probably represents 10 months worth of building starts which were delayed due to the freeze.
Cramming 10 months worth of construction into a month looks really good for that month, but if you put it into a more relevant context (say, the rate of builing over the past year compared to the same period a year before) it's probably no better than average.
Of course I think you should be ABLE to live in Judea and Samaria. In an ideal world. A world where the rights of non-Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria were afforded the same considerations as their colonists. And that said, I'm aware of the sad reality that you won't be able to live there for much longer.
PS, in Israel we spell it "integral"
Palestinian birth rates are significantly higher. They're trending steadily downwards, but it's something of a gamble to assume that will continue forever.
Post a Comment