Israel to advance West Bank building 3 days prior to Biden inauguration
The Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria is scheduled to hold two separate meetings Sunday, one for Palestinian projects and one for settler projects.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFThe Higher Planning Council is set to advance West Bank settler housing projects Sunday, including in Itamar. Picture taken June 15, 2020.(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
Israel is set to advance plans for both settlers and Palestinian building in the West Bank Sunday, three days prior to the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden.The Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria is scheduled to hold two separate meetings Sunday, one for Palestinian projects and one for settler projects.In a tweet announcing the intention to advance plans for some 800 new settler homes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said, "we are here to stay. We are continuing to build the Land of Israel."The agenda and date of the meeting was published only late Tuesday night. It included the advancement of moves to authorize two outposts: Nofei Nechmia and Havat Yair.It also spoke of projects in the settlements of Oranit, Elkana, Karnei Shomron, Shavei Shomron, Itamar, Tal Menashe and Rehelim.Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz has spoken of the Palestinian building.He announced that a discussion would make plans for the expansion of al-Walaja village and Hizma as well as construction of a hotel in Bethlehem and in Beit Jala. The council is also expected to look at the legal status of agricultural structures in the al-Jiftlik area near Jericho.MK Bezalel Smotrich, who recently formed a new religious Zionist party, has asked the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to hold an urgent meeting regarding the plans for Palestinian building in Area C.The committee has held a number of meetings in which they have spoken against Palestinian building in Area C and in support of the need to preserve all of that area for inclusion in the sovereign boundaries of Israel.Sunday's planning meeting comes as Netanyahu is under pressure to appease the Right in advance of Biden's entry into the White House. It is expected that Biden would oppose settlement activity and that this will be a tension point between Jerusalem and Washington. Biden, however, would look favorably on Palestinian plans for Area C.
