According to data from the Peace Now organization, work has begun on no less than 1,712 new housing units, and in almost every second settlement there is a significant building project. This is especially noticeable in the outlying and smaller settlements.
In some 65 settlements there is a large construction project. In other settlements too the bulldozers are working overtime.
The Prime Minister's Office tried to play down the significance of the accelerated construction in the West Bank. "The current construction will not affect the peace borders in any way," said Mark Regev, one of the prime minister's spokespersons. He said to the New York Times that building begun since the end of the freeze is taking place in existing settlements alone, and that no new land expropriations have taken place.
Dror Etkes, who has been monitoring building beyond the Green Line (the pre-1967 borders) for almost a decade, says he doesn't remember any period with such intensive construction.
Peace Now's Hagit Ofran agrees. "This is the most active period for years," she said. In addition to housing units which are already under construction, she says, some 13,000 additional units have been approved. In comparison, in each of the last three years only 3,000 housing units were built.
Source: Ynet
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