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Israel pushes forward settlement construction in West Bank

Xinhua, July 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israel has advanced plans to construct or retroactively legalize 1,065 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, official documents showed on Thursday.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the higher planning committee of the military's Civil Administration retroactively approved 24 housing units in two buildings in the settlement of Beit El near the West Bank Palestinian city of Ramallah, according to minutes of the meeting sent to Xinhua.

The retroactive approval was made amid heavy pressures by settler groups not to demolish the buildings, including numerous demonstrations throughout the West Bank.

Israel's Supreme Court ordered to demolish the so-called Dreinoff buildings by the end of July because they were built on private Palestinian land.

"Following yesterday's approval of the plan, the state is expected to request the Supreme Court to reverse its ruling," Israeli settlements watchdog Peace Now said in a statement.

Altogether, the committee retroactively legalized 228 existing housing units.

In addition, it approved plans for 541 housing units, which already received approvals in the past but its construction could not begin without the further approval, and approved the development of infrastructure for a plan that consists of 296 housing units.

The committee also approved the construction of a Jewish seminary (Yeshiva) near the Neve Daniel settlement, south of Bethlehem, and a winery at the Kiryat Arba settlement, a stronghold of hardcore settlers.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and has controlled it ever since.

The settlements are built on lands the Palestinians see as their future state, and are considered illegal by the international community.

Settlement construction has been a stumbling block for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The international community, including the United States, has repeatedly called on Israel to halt settlement activities so as to help resume the long-stalled talks. Endit