US: Israel’s approval for Hebron housing plan ‘deeply concerning’

The US State Department says Israeli government approval for the planning of new Jewish housing in Hebron is “a deeply concerning step of settlement expansion.”

“We strongly oppose all settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace. And we’ve said repeatedly such moves are not consistent with Israel’s stated desire to achieve a two-state solution,” deputy State Department spokesman Marc Toner says during a daily briefing with reporters. He also calls the land “at least partially owned by the Palestinians.”

The government granted permission for planning infrastructure in the area on Sunday. According to the plan, the residential area will be in the military compound of Plugat Hamitkanim, formerly the city’s central bus station. Israel requisitioned the land for military use in the 1980s.

— JTA