LONDON: Israeli authorities approved a new settlement plan on Sunday to confiscate 35 dunams (9 acres) of land from the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum, located east of Qalqilya in the occupied northern West Bank.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, which monitors settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, reported that the Israeli plan includes the construction of 58 new housing units at the Mitzpe Yeshai settlement, which is situated on the land of Kafr Qaddum.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are a breach of international law and UN resolutions, hindering the potential for establishing a Palestinian state, the Wafa news agency said.
In early September, Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister, revealed plans to annex 82 percent of the West Bank, a move that would effectively end the prospect of realizing the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have carried out more than 38,000 attacks in the West Bank, including 767 fires deliberately set on Palestinian homes and lands, and more than 1,000 demolitions that destroyed nearly 3,700 structures, including homes and agricultural facilities, according to the commission’s report.
