From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Planning panel pushes ahead authorization for 3,500 settlement homes
An Israeli planning body has advanced permits for 3,500 new homes in West Bank settlements near Jerusalem, government ministers announce.
The homes are planned for the large settlements of Maale Adumim and Efrat and the smaller one of Kedar, according to statements from settlement leaders as well as ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Orit Strock.
The statements do not offer a settlement-by-settlement breakdown of how many new units were advanced by the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration, which oversees settlement planning in the West Bank.
The council, which is under Smotrich’s aegis, has not met since June due to the war in Gaza, according to reports. Settlement leaders had pushed for it to convene in order to get the ball rolling on new home approvals in West Bank settlements.
The homes in Maale Adumim and Kedar are now at the public comment period stage, while those in Efrat have been advanced to final approval, according to a notice posted online by Strock.
In a tweet, Smotrich declares that 18,515 homes have been approved in the West Bank over the past year, a record.
“The enemies try to harm and weaken us but we will continue to build and be built up in this land,” he says.
The Times of Israel Community.