Gaza Herald – The Wall and Resistance Against the Occupation Authority stated that Israeli authorities intend to discuss 11 settlement plans in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem tomorrow, Wednesday. These plans include the construction of 608 housing units across various locations.
The Authority clarified in a statement issued on Tuesday that the plans are distributed among the governorates of Hebron, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Jenin, Salfit, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. The total area covered by these projects amounts to 374.293 dunums.
According to the statement, the projects consist of six residential plans totaling 608 units, alongside five plans concerning engineering facilities and commercial spaces. Additionally, they involve modifications to building regulations and rights.
Based on a review of the schedule for the sub-committee meetings of the Higher Planning Council and the plan documents, the presented projects combine the expansion of existing settlements with the stabilization of new sites. They also aim to develop services and supporting urban infrastructure.
The Authority noted that the figures relate to the contents of the plans under discussion, as no decisions have been issued regarding them yet. The residential plans include 278 units in Avigal and 200 units in Kiryat Arba in Hebron.
Further details indicate 68 units in Kochav HaShahar and 30 units in Mtzeri Eretz in Ramallah and Al-Bireh. There are also 30 units in Nawa in Jenin and two units in Ali Zahaf in Salfit.
The Authority pointed out that some sites included in the plans witnessed construction activities and facility establishment carried out by settlers proactively before completing planning procedures. This suggests an attempt to fix facts on the ground.
It emphasized that presenting these plans aims to complete proceedings imposed on the ground and grant them retrospective planning coverage. The Authority views this sequence as evidence of collusion between settlers and occupation institutions.
Settlers initiate the stabilization of field presence, after which official bodies complete planning procedures and provide the means to consolidate and expand it. The Authority identified Nawa and Mtzeri Eretz as colonial sites recently approved by the government.
The Nawa plan covers southeast Jenin, proposing a temporary complex of mobile buildings for residence and public use on approximately 22.7 dunums. Meanwhile, the Mtzeri Eretz plan, also known as Nov Gilad, is located on lands in Rammun and Tibba east of Ramallah.
This plan spans about 45.8 dunums and includes 30 temporary units considered the first stage of the settlement. The Authority stressed that these plans reveal the continued use of the planning system to enhance the settlement project.
Housing units integrate with services, trade, and engineering facilities, thereby increasing the capacity of settlements to accommodate more settlers. This process solidifies new sites on Palestinian land and deepens restrictions on Palestinian urban development and geographical connectivity.
This report was produced in the Gaza Herald newsroom.
