A new Israeli settlement on the West Bank
IN RESPONSE to international pressure, Israel has built no new settlements in the occupied West Bank for over two decades, focusing instead on construction within the 120 or so that are already there. But on March 30th the Israeli government announced it would be building a brand new settlement 25km (15 miles) north of Jerusalem.
The new settlement is to be built as part of an agreement with the 42 Israeli families evicted on February 1st from the Amona outpost, following a ruling by the High Court that they had built their homes on privately owned Palestinian land. Despite authorising the new construction, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also told his cabinet that henceforth, any further building would take place only within the boundaries of the current settlements. This is to accommodate the wishes of America’s president, Donald Trump, who at a joint press conference in Washington on February 15th declared to Mr Netanyahu: “I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit.”
Mr Netanyahu’s decision, to press ahead with one new settlement while in effect restricting all other construction, is closely co-ordinated with the White House. His...Continue reading