On Thursday, Israeli authorities approved the construction of 4,000 settlement units in occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem territory.
Several Israeli news agencies reported that the Israeli High Council of Planning and Building, an official Israeli agency that oversees settlement construction in the Palestinian occupied areas, approved the construction of additional settler units.
Israeli media said that the new units will be constructed in the existing settlements of Betar Illit in southern Jerusalem, Elkana in the northern West Bank, Doliv in the northwestern Ramallah, and Kiryat Arba east of Hebron, among others.
Jordan criticized Israel’s declaration that it would construct new settlement units while continuing to demolish Palestinian-owned homes in the occupied southern West Bank.
In a statement, the spokesperson for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Haitham Abu Alfoul, described these activities as illegitimate and unlawful.
According to international law, both the West Bank and East Jerusalem are occupied territories, and any Jewish settlement construction there is illegal.
According to Israeli and Palestinian estimates, approximately 650,000 settlers reside in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.
