Israel Approves 176 New Housing Units inside Palestinian Neighborhood
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Zionist regime of Israel approved on Wednesday a major expansion of a Jewish settler enclave in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood East of Jerusalem (al-Quds), issuing building permits for 176 new housing units.
The expansion would create the largest Israeli settlement inside a Palestinian neighborhood of the city, NGOs say. It will allow the Nof Zion settlement to add 176 housing units to the 91 existing homes, Turkey's Daily Sabah reported.
The settlement is located in the annexed east Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.
"We are unifying Jerusalem through actions on the ground," Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement about the settlement's expansion.
Since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January, the regime in Tel Aviv has stepped up construction of settler units on the occupied Palestinian land in a blatant violation of international law.
Less than a month before Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council had adopted Resolution 2334, calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds)".
About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as its capital.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.