Israel reportedly informs US of plans to build thousands of new West Bank Jewish settlement homes
The Israeli government has reportedly informed Washington that it intends to build “thousands” of new Jewish settlement homes in the West Bank, according to the Axios news outlet.
An unnamed Israeli official reportedly told Axios that the number of approved home units “would be in the thousands” or approximately 4,000.
A dissatisfied Biden administration is reportedly trying to pressure the Israeli government to postpone the settlement expansion announcement or at least reduce the number of planned units.
Like much of the international community, the Washington opposes the presence and development of Jewish communities in the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson said the Biden administration “has been clear that advancing settlements is an obstacle to peace and the achievement of a two-state solution.”
There is currently no official comment from the Israeli government.
Just two weeks ago, the U.S. State Department condemned the Israeli government’s attempts to legalize the Homesh settlement in a statement.
“The expansion of settlements undermines the geographic viability of a two-state solution, exacerbates tensions, and further harms trust between the parties."
The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed “the need to uphold the commitments made at two regional meetings in Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt to avoid measures that undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.”
The United Nations voted in 1947 to partition the then British-ruled Palestine Mandate into one Jewish and one Arab state, with Jerusalem becoming an international zone. While the Jewish leadership reluctantly accepted the UN partition plan, local Arab leadership, as well as neighboring Arab states, rejected the division and initiated attacks on the Jewish community.
Five regular Arab armies invaded the nascent Jewish state the day after it declared its independence in May 1948. Israel later regained control of the West Bank, Jerusalem’s Old City, Gaza and the Golan Heights during the Six Day War in 1967.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
