Israel to approve expansion of illegal Itamar settlement

   
[ 14/07/2011 - 01:43 PM ]

 

NABLUS, (PIC)-- Israeli security sources say the Israeli government will push for a construction plan in the illegal Itamar settlement, south of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Within the next few days, the plans should be approved, the sources said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu pledged to carry out the plan in response to the Itamar incident, where a family of five Jewish settlers were stabbed to death.

The plans were revealed in a response letter by Israeli national home front minister Matan Vilnai to Knesset member Yaakov Katz, the leader of the extremist National Union party. Vilnai asked Katz on the government's official position on a construction plan covering 13 West Bank settlements.

Vilnai said there were currently no active plans in Itamar and that Israeli war minister Ehud Barack and government agencies had set borders for Itamar to allow its expansion.
The letter also said that in the next few days, a modified zoning plan would be produced and brought to the government for approval and licensing.

Vilnai also addressed the illegal Rechelim settlement outpost in the letter. The outpost is classified as illegal by the Israeli government and therefore has not been given a zoning plan.

“The government is currently weighing plans to legalize and document Rechelim, but the political leadership still needs to issue an official decision in this regard,” he said.
The letter also referred to the illegal outpost of Naghot near Al-Khalil. He said the matter is currently under legal procedures designed to weigh the possibility of converting it into a “legal settlement”.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian