Islam Times - ‘Israel’ Settlement Approvals Hit Record High

Islam Times - The Zionist entity approved over 12,000 West Bank settler units in 2020, a record high for ‘Israeli’ building in occupied Palestinian territory, settlement watchdog ‘Peace Now’ said Thursday.

The announcement came after an ‘Israeli’ war ministry planning committee approved plans for 4,948 more se during a two-day meeting held Wednesday and Thursday, Peace Now said.

The latest approvals come less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalize relations with the Zionist entity, which in return pledged to freeze its plans to annex swathes of the West Bank.

"These approvals make 2020 the highest year on record in terms of units in settlement plans promoted since Peace Now began recording in 2012," Peace Now said in a statement.

"The count so far is 12,159 units approved in 2020," it added, noting that the committee might hold another round of approvals before the end of the year.

Relatively, UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said the latest approvals were "of great concern."

"Settlement construction is illegal under international law," he said in a statement, calling on ‘Israel’ to immediately cease all settlement-related activities.