Israel approves hundreds of new settlement homes in occupied West Bank
18 Jan, 2021 12:00 AM
3 minutes to read
The Separation Wall in the occupied West Bank. Photo / 123RF
AP
By: Josef Federman
Israeli authorities on Sunday (Monday NZT) advanced plans to build nearly 800 homes in West Bank settlements, in a last-minute surge of approvals before the friendly Trump Administration leaves office later this week.
COGAT, the Israeli defence body that authorises settlement construction, confirmed the approvals, which drew swift condemnations from the Palestinians. The United Nations considers Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be illegal under international law.
The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now said that over 90 per cent of the homes lay deep inside the West Bank, which the Palestinians seek as the heartland of a future independent state, and more than 200 homes were in unauthorised outposts the Government had decided to legalise.
JERUSALEM, Jan 18 Israel’s military said today its fighter planes struck Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip after Palestinians fired rockets at the Jewish state. Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards the coast near the southern city of Ashdod, according to a military statement.
Israeli warplanes hit Gaza after rocket fire: army | Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) bssnews.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bssnews.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
RAMALLAH/GAZA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -by Sanaa Kamal
Jihad Qindah, from the West Bank city of Ramallah, breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that the legislative elections will be held on May 22.
The 35-year-old young man, who was elected to the Fatah party in 2006, said that the upcoming elections will present him a golden opportunity to choose representatives who would achieve goals and fulfill Palestinians’ dreams.
Mariam Kurdiya, another Palestinian from the city of Ramallah, told Xinhua that the internal division of Palestine has destroyed the existence of the Palestinian issue, not only in the regional area but also globally.
Monday, 18 January, 2021 - 07:30
Palestinian guards outside the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah. Reuters Ramallah - Kifah Zboun
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Ramallah Sunday with Egyptian Chief of General Intelligence Abbas Kamel and the head of the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate, Ahmed Husni.
Informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting tackled the upcoming elections, ways to advance the peace process and steps to accomplish the Palestinian reconciliation to end the rivalry between Abbas’s Fatah faction and Hamas.
On Friday, Abbas issued a formal presidential decree ordering the first Palestinian national elections in more than a decade and a half. The Legislative Council will be held on May 22 followed by the presidential election on July 31.