Israel Prepares to Build Over 55000 Settlements in Occupied West Bank

The fourth Palestinian, who died in clashes with the Israeli military in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank, was hit in the head by live fire, according to Ahmad Bitawi, the director of Ramallah hospital.

Peace Now estimates that more than 55,000 housing units are currently in various stages of planning in the West Bank, at a total cost of approximately 330 million shekels (£57 million). He was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition.

“The law fuels the public discourse of these NGOs as treasonous, which can negatively impact their work to engage Israeli society in human rights issues, including those related to Palestine”.

However, private funds from overseas that finance illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that Palestinians want for a future state would not be covered by the legislation. In the wake of the announcement, the UK, France, Sweden, Denmark and Spain all summoned Israeli ambassadors to protest the plans. As the Associated Press reported, a Palestinian security officer said that “Palestinian security forces arrested Wednesday about a dozen suspected radical Islamists in Bethlehem”.

The bill also comes at a time of heightened tension between Israelis and Palestinians and frequent attacks, of which two occurred Sunday.

Israeli security forces have not been able to stop the attacks, which are mostly carried out by unmarried youths who decide on their own to pick up a knife or an ax or a potato peeler.

The recent unrest has largely consisted of apparent lone-wolf attacks by young Palestinians on Israelis, but Israel has accused Hamas of encouraging the violence from its bases in the Gaza Strip and in exile in Qatar. Contrary to the false impression given in the December 24 report, they were the perpetrators of West Bank attacks, not the victims.

With Israel mired in a wave of near-daily violence with the Palestinians, hard-line lawmakers and activist groups have been stepping up the pressure on dovish opponents.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the two Palestinians were relatives, one aged 17 and the other, 23. In 2013, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze E1 development after heavy worldwide criticism.

Many Israeli human-rights groups are dependent for a majority of their funding on donations from foreign governments and global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations. “That’s nonsense. Anyone can say what they want”.