An overview of Jewish housing being built in the Efrat Settlement in the West Bank, September 7, 2014. Both Jordan and Palestinian groups condemned the Israeli government on Saturday plans to build additional housing units. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI |
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March 25 (UPI) -- Palestinian groups and Jordan condemned Israel Saturday after a published report indicated the government is planning to build hundreds of new housing units for settlers in the occupied West Bank.
A report by Israeli human rights group Peace Now published Friday claimed the Israel Land Authority has published tenders for the construction of the new housing in violation of an agreement reached Sunday to halt new construction for four months in bid to calm tensions in the area ahead of the Ramadan month.
The group cited tenders for 940 housing units in the settlements of Efrat and Beitar Ilit, making for a total of 1,029 housing units in the West Bank this week.
The Beitar Ilit tenders are for 747 units planned in 11 different complexes, with the majority to be part of the "targeted housing" program encouraging eligible citizens, mainly young families, to purchase their first home.
In Efrat, meanwhile, 193 housing units are being planned, the group said, while another tender for 89 housing units in the Gilo Settlement neighborhood of East Jerusalem was also published this week, the group said.
"This is yet another harmful and unnecessary construction initiative," Peace Now said. "Despite Israel's commitments to its allies around the world, it appears to continue promoting construction that harms the chances for a political agreement and increases the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in both the short and long term."
Both Palestinian groups and Jordan on Saturday decried the tenders, saying they violate international law and understandings reached between Israel and the Palestinians at the recent security summit in Egypt.
"This is also a blatant breach and an intentional sabotage of the understandings reached between the Palestinians and Israelis under the auspices of the Americans," the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
"This confirms that the Israeli government is proceeding with the crime of expanding settlements and deepening apartheid in order to shut the door in the face of establishing a Palestinian state," it added.
"Settlement activities are a flagrant violation of international law, foremost of which is Security Council Resolution No. 2334," Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Majali said.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week reiterated a commitment that it would not establish new settlements for a period of four months.