Israel approves new settlements despite Sharm al-Sheikh commitments

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Israel continues its 'Facts on the ground' strategy to prevent any return to the pre-1967 borders and to ensure lasting Israeli control over occupied Palestine

The Israeli government is publishing tenders for 940 new housing units in the settlements of Efrat and Beitar Illit and 89 in occupied East Jerusalem, settlement watch group Peace Now reported in a new statement on Friday, 24 March.

The new tenders contradict a commitment made by Israel at the recent security summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, which was attended by US, Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian officials to calm recent tensions ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. At the conference, the Israeli delegation committed to halting settlement construction for four months.

“This is yet another harmful and unnecessary construction initiative as part of the messianic coup that is unfolding alongside the regime coup. The most extreme right-wing government in the history of the country is not only trampling on democracy but also on the possibility of a future political agreement and on our relations with the US and friendly countries. Lies and violations of these commitments are a sure way to turn Israel into an isolated country,” Peace Now said.

The group stated further that despite Israel’s commitments to its allies around the world, it appears to continue promoting construction that harms the chances for a political agreement and increases tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in both the short and long term.

Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) had agreed to abide by all previous agreements between them, according to an announcement made following the security meeting in the Egyptian resort town on 19 March, which was aimed at establishing a “mechanism” to curb violence.

The meeting was attended by US diplomat Brett McGurk and the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers, as well as a delegation representing the PA, which was significantly pressured by the Palestinian resistance not to attend given the recent surge in Israeli violence across the West Bank.

The meeting was meant as a follow-up to last month’s summit in Aqaba, Jordan.

The Israeli move to approve new settlements despite commitments to the contrary continues previous efforts to establish “facts on the ground,” according to a strategy that began immediately after Israel conquered the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 during the Six Days War. Through this strategy, Israel seeks to build settlements and increase the number of settlers living on occupied Palestinian land while at the same time feigning sincere efforts at reaching a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

Once enough settlements can be built; this would prevent any return to the pre-1967 borders and ensure lasting Israeli control over occupied Palestine.