illegal jewish settlements apartheid road
© Thomas Coex/Agence France-PresseA protected road from Jerusalem carves through the West Bank town of Bethlehem to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc which Israeli lawmakers are pushing to incorporate within an expanded city limits in a move critics say is tantmount to annexation

Comment: WTF is Israel to 'approve' building permits in a foreign country?

Oh, that's right: Israel de facto claims ALL of Palestine...

Is Bibi pulling a PR stunt ahead of Kushner's visit?


The move, the first of its kind since 2016, has been eyed suspiciously by both the left and right

In a rare move that comes as Jared Kushner makes his way to Israel to reportedly announce a Camp David peace summit, Israel's security cabinet approved late Tuesday night construction permits for 715 Palestinian homes along with 6,000 for Jewish settlement homes in the West Bank's Area C.

Unlike Areas A and B, Area C is under full Israeli control, as per the Oslo Accords, and is home to Jewish settlements, accounting for over 60% of the West Bank.

It is not clear whether the approval provides for new construction of Palestinian homes or simply applies to existing ones that are slated for demolition.


Israeli cabinet approves Palestinian building in West Bank's Area C

It was also not readily apparent why the plan was brought for approval by the security cabinet, which held significant discussions on the issue Sunday and Monday, given that it practically only requires the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as the defense minister.

However, Israel has not approved such a decision in favor of Palestinian housing in Area C since 2016, therefore suggesting it was a concession for some other gain -- likely intended to help the Trump administration ahead of Kushner's arrival in Israel Wednesday that could see the announcement of an imminent Camp David summit.

The religious, nationalist right-wing Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advocated imposing religious law in Israel as he held out hope for justice minister last month, voted in favor of the plan.

Smotrich took to Facebook in an attempt to justify his position that runs against virtually all settler leaders, including the NGO Regavim he helped establish.

Emphasizing the approval for the construction of Israeli homes as fortifying Jewish presence in the West Bank, he also qualified the approval for Palestinian residences as limited to those who had been living in Area C before the 1994 Oslo Accords and "only in places that do not compromise settlement and security and do not... produce a de facto Palestinian state."

Settler leaders Mateh Binyamin Regional Council chief Israel Gantz and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan issued a joint statement on Monday, calling the proposal "particularly worrying," Haaretz reported.