More Settlement Construction Approved

The government has approved the construction of 650 new homes in Beitar Elite, an ultra-Orthodox settlement just over the Green Line (2-3 kilometers from it), approximately 12 kilometers south west of Jerusalem.

The government has, over the past week approved construction of over 2,500 new homes in Judea and Samaria, all in the “consensus settlements”. This term refers to settlements located near the Green Line (up to 9 kilometers from it). Unlike settlements deep in the West Bank, which are controversial within Israeli society, these are not. Polls consistently show a large majority of Israelis support construction in these settlements, and expect them to remain part of Israel even after a peace treaty is signed.

Projects recently approved include 700 new homes in Alfei Menashe, east of Kfar Sava, 200 in Oranit, east of Rosh Ha’ayin, 650 in Efrat, Gush Etzion’s (Etzion Block) biggest town, and 650 in Beit Arieh, located 15 kilometers due east of Ben Gurion Airport.

Last week the government approved almost a thousand accomodation units in Ma’aleh Edumim, a large Jerusalem suburb just east of the city, about 6 kilometers over the Green Line.

No new projects have been approved in the non-consensus settlements. Netanyahu has already said he has frozen construction in them until after his meeting with President Trump, scheduled for the fifteenth of February.