There were 2,630 housing construction starts in West Bank settlements in 2016, the Central Bureau of Statistics says in a report released today.
The settlement watchdog group Peace Now says this is a 40 percent increase on last year, up from 1,901 in 2015
The release of the figures come as Israel is trying to reach an agreement with the US on settlement construction. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier in the day that “significant progress ” has been made.
According to Peace Now, this is the second-highest number of new home starts in the last 15 years and the group says it shows Israel is not interested in reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians.
“The sharp increase in settlement construction sends a clear message to the Palestinians and to the international community that Israel is not interested in a two state solution,” Peace Now says.
The figures do not include building in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu says Israeli building in East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed, is nonnegotiable.
Palestinian laborers work at the construction site of a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Ariel near the West Bank city of Nablus on January 25, 2017. (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)
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