The so-called Supreme Council for Settlements and the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit approved yesterday the construction of hundreds of settlement units in the settlement of Beitar Illit, located on the lands of the residents of Husan, Nahalin and Wadi Fukin villages in the southern West Bank.
The director of the Office of the resistance of the wall and settlement in Bethlehem, Hassan Brigia, said that the approval was made to build 770 settlement units, pointing out that three days ago the approval of the construction of 70 units in the settlement "Maksad" southeast of Bethlehem.
This comes at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that he intends to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins a new term in the legislative elections next week. Netanyahu responded to a question in an interview with Channel 12 on Israeli television, saying that was what he intended to do.
The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, responded that Netanyahu's statement was "not surprising".
"Israel will continue its flagrant violation of international law as long as the international community continues to reward Israel with impunity, especially with the support of the (Donald) Trump administration," Erekat wrote on Twitter.
The occupation launched yesterday, a campaign of arrests and intrusions in the West Bank, affecting 10 Palestinians, and referred to the investigation on charges of resisting the occupation and its settlers.