Israel Vows To Build 3,000 More Settler Homes In West Bank In Defiance Of UN Resolution

Defying the UN resolution, condemning construction of settler homes in West Bank and calling for removal of settlements from land designated to Palestine, Israel has sanctioned construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the region. Three such announcements have already been made since Donald Trump’s inauguration and the fourth one comes soon after the new administration in the United States imposed immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Over 2,000 of these homes will be built immediately and the remaining in different phases. Construction of 2,500 settler homes was authorised last week. The European Union and the Palestinian Authority have condemned the decision.

Trump, unlike former president Barack Obama, has not condemned the construction of settlements. Moving away from its support for Israel, US under Obama had refused to veto a resolution condemning the construction of these settlements.

Trump had supported Israel’s position back then, saying “peace between the Israelis and Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations". This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis," he wrote on social media.

“We are building and we will continue building,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said last week, adding that Trump’s appointment offers “significant opportunities”. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump on 15 February.