The US today stated that it was deeply troubled with Israel’s approval of thousands of colonial settler units in the occupied West Bank. ‘The United States is deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s reported decision to advance planning for over 4,000 settlement units in the West Bank. We are similarly concerned by reports of changes to Israel’s system of settlement administration that expedite the planning and approvals of settlements,’ the US State Department said in a press statement. ‘As has been longstanding policy, the United States opposes such unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve and are an obstacle to peace,’ it added. It called on the Israeli government to ‘fulfill the commitments it made in Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt and return to dialogue aimed at de-escalation.’ Israel’s far-right government plans to approve thousands of building permits for illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The agenda for Israel’s Supreme Planning Council meeting next week included plans to discuss 4,560 colonial settler units across the West Bank, including 1,332 units that are up for approval, with the remainder going through the preliminary clearance process. Israel uses the Jewish nationalist name ‘Judea and Samaria’ to refer to the occupied West Bank to reinforce its bogus claims to the territory and to give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy. There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA