Israel says new eastern W.Bank settlement plans invalid

E1 and the adjacent Maale Adumim settlement form an Israeli buffer east of Jerusalem that the Palestinians say would divide the West Bank and badly hurt the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state.

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).

The cell is evidence to “an increased effort to exploit the escalation of violence in the West Bank to promote bombings and suicide bombings against targets in Israel and the West Bank”, the Shin Bet said.

For over three months Palestinians have carried out near daily attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces including stabbings, shootings, and vehicle ramming attacks.

Israeli forces fatally shot the assailant on the scene. At least 128 Palestinians have died in the same period. Among the Palestinians, over 100 have been killed, majority as they carried out attacks, and others in violent riots with security forces.

The incident took place near Huwara south of Nablus on Thursday, leaving a soldier injured, a military statement said.

It reported that another Palestinian was detained after he allegedly stabbed a soldier in West Jerusalem. The latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

Violence has also been triggered by Muslim anger over stepped-up Israeli visits to Jerusalem’s al Aqsa mosque complex.

The body says the circumstances surrounding a number of Palestinian deaths remain disputed. They say that Israeli settlement construction on the lands they claim is a sign of bad faith.

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

“Beyond the fact that this is a bill that ostensibly seeks to increase transparency, it seeks to label human beings”, she reportedly said Sunday.

On Saturday evening, dozens of left-wing activists protested against the bill across Shaked’s house in Tel Aviv, calling the bill a “witch hunt” that is aimed at silencing criticism on Israel by left-wing organisations. The settlements are considered illegal by the United Nations, and West Bank territory is considered occupied territory by the International Court of Justice.