Israel plans over 55000 new W.Bank settlement homes: Peace Now

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in northern West Bank, told Palestinian WAFA news agency that the Israeli authorities notified local Palestinians in the villages of Jurish and Qusra, to the south of Nablus, about their intent to take over around 500 dunums of land.

Many of the Palestinians were killed while carrying out attacks on Israelis, while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes.

“In this connection we reaffirm the need for refraining from any unilateral steps that might further complicate Palestinian-Israeli relations and put a question mark over the principle of double-state settlement of the Palestinian problem, approved by the worldwide community, including Israel”, the Foreign Ministry said.

Peace Now said it had obtained the information from Israel’s Housing Ministry in response to a freedom of information request.

A wave of violence since the start of October has claimed the lives of 136 people on the Palestinian side, 19 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. In 2013, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze E1 development plans following heavy worldwide criticism. The legislature is expected to approve the bill as early as this week.

Israel’s government has renewed planning for a controversial settlement in the occupied West Bank only a year after it was forced to suspend its expansion, according to Israeli activists.

Adalah, a group that promotes the rights of Israel’s Arab minority, said the plan to make groups wear special tags “is an act of humiliation and incitement”. The possibility of building in the E1 has caused considerable concern that it would effectively prevent a contiguous Palestinian state. The demolitions occurred across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Quds Press reported on Tuesday.

An Israeli man who was stabbed three weeks ago near Hebron succumbed to his wounds on Wednesday, a spokesperson for a Jerusalem hospital said. Palestinians say the violence stems from frustration over almost five decades of Israeli military rule.

There are more than 30,000 NGOs registered in Israel, about half of them active.