Israel approves construction of 400 new homes in east Jerusalem settlement

Israel on Thursday approved construction of 400 new homes in a Jewish neighbourhood in occupied east Jerusalem and invited bids for construction of another 416 settler homes in the occupied West Bank. According to AFP, the interior ministry announced that a committee had approved a plan first declared in March to construct 400 housing units in the Jewish neighbourhood of Neve Yaakov.

Israeli authorities also called for bids for the construction of 286 homes in Beitar Ilit, a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, just south of Jerusalem. They also called for bids for construction of 130 homes in Har Homa, a Jewish district in east Jerusalem.

At the conference in Annapolis last year, Israel agreed to freeze settlement activity. "Once again this government has shown that its words and commitments are meaningless and they have no intention of keeping to their word," the anti-settlement Peace Now group said. "The continued construction in the West Bank and in Jerusalem is another death blow to the Annapolis process," the Israeli group said.