A report issued by the National Barue for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance stated that the Israeli authorities escalated their settlement activities in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, during the term of the outgoing US President Donald Trump.

The report, a copy of which obtained by Safa on Saturday, pointed out that the Israeli authorities approved in the first three years of Trump's presidency to build about 7,000 housing units annually, nearly double the average settlement units in the three years preceding it during the administration of President Barack Obama, which exceeded 3600 housing units.
 
It explained that the aim of the approvals is to undermine the possibility of reaching a political agreement with the Palestinians by encouraging more construction in the settlements.

According to the report, the year 2020 was not the worst for the Palestinians politically only, but also demographically, stating that the Israeli authorities are planning to raise the number of settlers in the West Bank to a million.

Moreover, it indicated that Israel began with the enactment of laws to legalize dozens of settlement outposts, and approved through the Planning and Settlement Council in the Civil Administration the construction of about 6,500 settlement units.

The report highlighted that the Supreme Council for Planning and Settlement will meet during the next two weeks to approve settlement expansion in the West Bank, and this is the first time to pass plans for expansion and settlement construction in the West Bank since Biden was elected President of the United States.

At the same time, the Israeli Minister of Settlement, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced the formation of a specialized team to monitor and follow up the Palestinian construction operations in Area C of the West Bank.

In Jerusalem, the Local Planning and Settlement Committee in the municipality of Moshe Leon approved the plan for the settlement park on the lands of Jerusalems' villages.

In addition, the Local Committee for Planning and Settlement in the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem has begun work on the implementation of a project to link the western and eastern Israeli settlements in the city of Jerusalem by light train trail.

Furthermore, settlers' attacks on Palestinians and their property continued in all governorates of the West Bank.

Source : Safa