The Mission of the State of Palestine would like to draw your attention to the announcement made yesterday by the Israeli Ministry of Housing and the Israel Land Authority of over 2,500 new settlement units in occupied territory. This is in addition to the 750 new units announced last week.

The brazen announcement came on President Trump’s last day in office and amounts to a land grab and de facto annexation of occupied territory.

2020 was the worst year on record for settler violence, destruction of crops, demolitions and displacement and illegal settlement expansion.

A report from Peace Now states:

• Tenders issued for the construction of 2,572 new housing units across the Green Line;
• 2,112 of them in settlements throughout the West Bank and 460 in East Jerusalem;
• 780 units already announced this week which incurred widespread condemnation.

Netanyahu had also intended to pass a cabinet decision on the establishment of 6 new settlements but this was delayed.

Urgent action is needed to halt this pattern and to effect consequences for breaches of international law.

Achieving a peaceful two-state solution would be impossible unless these plans are stopped. The international community has many measures at its disposal to impose sanctions and the culture of impunity for the occupier must be stopped.