Israel plans to expand settlements, to build fence along West Bank border

Published May 20th, 2002 - 03:00 GMT

Israel’s Housing and Construction Ministry recently published tenders for the construction of 957 new residential units to be built throughout West Bank settlements, according to Palestine News Agency (WAFA).

The tenders, published over the past few days show the following breakdown in these illegal settlements, according to WAFA: Efrat - 339 units, Betar - 244 units, Ma'aleh Adumim - 224 units, Gevat Binyamin - 76 units, and Har Adar - 74 units.

Israeli Parliament Member Mussi Raz, from the Meretz party, who revealed the figures Sunday said that such construction, constituted a declaration of intent on the part of the Israeli government.

The government was continuing to enslave the state, both from a security and an economic point of view, to the settlements, Raz said.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben Eliezer, meeting Monday with leaders of towns along Israel's border with the West Bank, ordered that a 364 km fence along the territories be completed within half a year.

The fence, which is planned to make it more difficult for suicide bombers to penetrate Israel, will be equipped with cameras and electronic detection devices. A wall will also be built near two settlements to protect them from shootings, Haaretz reported. (Albawaba.com)