Israel has pushed on with plans to build a Jewish settler neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, a watchdog group said on Sunday, warning such efforts were being stepped up before US President Donald Trump leaves office.
The Trump administration has broken with decades of bipartisan US practice by not opposing Jewish settlement activity in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and the West Bank. President-elect Joe Biden has said his administration will restore US opposition to the settlements which are considered illegal under international law and that many governments view as an obstacle to peace.
In the latest move the Israel Land Authority has issued construction tenders in Givat Hamatos, an uninhabited area of East Jerusalem next to the Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Safafa.
In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the approval of 3000 homes in the area. He said 2000 would be allocated for Jews, and 1000 for Arab residents of Beit Safafa.
Last week, the land authority issued tenders for the construction of more than 1200 mostly residential units in Givat Hamatos.
Ir Amim, an Israeli civil society organisation that tracks settlements in Jerusalem, warned that the next two months in the lead-up to the change in Washington “will be a critical period”.
“We believe that Israel will attempt to exploit this time to advance moves that the incoming administration will potentially oppose,” it said.
Read the article in The Australian (AP).