The new “construction policy” presented by the prime minister to security cabinet members yesterday means the continued oppression of Palestinians, settlement expansion, and breach of international law. Going over the heads of Palestinians, Israel facilitates the continued theft of more and more of their land while forbidding them from building on it, demolishing their homes, and flagrantly disregarding their needs.

On the ground, the West Bank has already been fragmented by Israeli settlement expansion. The meaning of the policy presented is that the state will go on building as it pleases, whether in or outside of settlement boundaries, in complete disregard of UNSCR 2334 on the illegality of the entire settlement enterprise. This policy is no show of good will, but instead unbridled theft masquerading as “restrained construction.”
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