Israel okays outpost construction plan: rights group

49 minutes ago

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has approved a plan to construct hundreds of homes in an unauthorised outpost in the occupied West Bank, a local rights group said on Tuesday.

According to Bimkom, Barak recently approved a plan for the construction of 300 housing units in an outpost next to the settlement of Talmon, northwest of the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

"The plan intends to create territorial contiguity between the settlement of Talmon and the Water Reservoir Hill outpost and to enlarge the settlement, at the expense of Palestinian villagers in the area," the group said in a statement.

Although the plan has yet to be given the final go-ahead, it was likely to be approved in the coming months in a move bound to further strain ties with the United States which has urged Israel to freeze all settlement activity.

Barak's office would not immediately comment on the report.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has vowed to dismantle more than 20 outposts built on private Palestinian land, but the hawkish premier has nevertheless refused to halt construction within existing settlements.

"This is the second time in the last few months where defence minister Barak approves plans for the extension of existing settlements or for new settlements altogether," Alon Cohen-Lifshitz, a member of Bimkom, said in a statement.

"This proves that Barak has no intention of freezing construction in existing settlements, and not even of refraining from building new ones."

Although the international community considers all Israeli settlements illegal, Israel makes a distinction between those authorised by the government and so-called wildcat outposts, set up by hardline settlers without state approval.

Copyright © 2009 AFP.


Peace road map? F'getit. Israel does what Israel wants.