RAMALLAH, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The construction of Israeli settlements is witnessing an unprecedented acceleration all over the West Bank, said a senior Palestinian official on Sunday.
"Israel has been carrying out settlement construction in the West Bank since 1967, but now it is unprecedentedly accelerating," said Mahmoud Al-Aloul, deputy chairman of the Fatah movement. "The current Israeli government is legalizing settlements that are not existing."
Al-Aloul referred to the return of Israeli settlers to two settlements that were evacuated in 2005 in the northern West Bank, noting that this was accompanied by intensive construction in settlements on Palestinian lands.
Last week, Israel's Supreme Planning Council approved the construction of 5,700 new housing units in settlements in the West Bank, according to Israeli media.
The approval came days after the Israeli government passed a bill to cancel the need for the approval of the political leadership on construction procedures in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The United States was "deeply troubled" by the move, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington, adding that U.S. officials had made clear publicly and privately to Israel their opposition to moves that advance settlements.
The Israeli settlement is one of the most prominent issues of dispute between the Palestinians and Israel, which was the main reason for halting the U.S.-sponsored direct peace negotiations between the two sides in 2014. ■
