Despite thousands of unsold apartments in the Occupied Territories and Palestinian demands for a settlement freeze, Israeli Lands Authority documents show that the government plans to build hundreds of new West Bank homes, Army Radio reported Wednesday, quoted by Haaretz.
It said that more than half of new tenders for home building were earmarked for construction in settlements.
For May alone, said the report, tenders were issued for the construction of 708 new homes in the West Bank. The figures, obtained and made public by Meretz MK Mussi Raz, show that the tenders were issued despite a 44 percent drop in home sales in the Occupied Territories last month, and the fact that 2,200 apartments were standing empty and unsold on settlements, the radio said.
Israel and the Palestinians have largely agreed to comply with recommendations contained in a report by the US-led Mitchell Commission calling for an immediate freeze on settlement activity, which is illegal under international law – Albawaba.com
