Zionist regime okays 278 more settlement units in East al-Quds

Zionist regime has given the green light for the construction of 278 new illegal settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) amid international outcry over Tel Aviv’s expansionist policies.

According to Palestinian media reports, the so-called Israeli “Planning and Construction Committee” approved the new project on Tuesday.

Based on the plan, 216 housing units are set to be built in Ramot settlement and 62 others in Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa) settlement, Israeli sources reported.

On Monday, Israeli activist group Peace Now said that the Israeli Interior Ministry gave the go-ahead for the construction of 500 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement.

Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat in a statement censured the Tel Aviv regime for the decision and termed the plan “a slap in the face” to the United States and the international community.

Last month, Israel approved plans for the construction of 1,060 new settler units in East al-Quds.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman warned the Security Council on October 29 over Israel’s land grab in East al-Quds, saying such policies threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.

The UN and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.