"Israel" Approves Expansion of West Bank Settlement

Source: Al Manar TV, 09-03-2008
'Israeli' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved the construction of hundreds of new housing units at a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the housing ministry said on Sunday. The ministry added in a statement, that it will renew construction of a housing project in Givat Ze'ev's Agan Ayelot settlement neighborhood, which will include hundreds of new homes in the Al Quds area, outside of the Green Line. An estimated 750 homes are expected to be built.
The Settlement Ministry and "Israel" Lands Administration (ILA) started marketing lots for the housing units in the Agan Ayalot settlement neighborhood in 1999, but stopped near the end of 2000 after the eruption of the second Intifada.
The 'Israeli' cabinet decision came after Thursday's attack on a Zionist religious school in Al Quds. The attack drew harsh criticism to Olmert and his ministerial and security group.
There were calls by some extreme 'Israeli' political and religious figures to build a whole settlement in the West Bank for each of the eight settles killed in the attack.
Analysts see in Olmert's move a bid to ease down the 'Israeli' street.
Olmert had asked Boim to update him regarding similar projects, in order to make decisions and strategize how to explain them to the international community. The international community considers all 'Israeli' settlements on occupied Palestinian land in '67 illegal.
The move was swiftly denounced as hampering efforts to advance faltering talks between the Palestinian authority and Israel. "We condemn in the harshest terms this decision," senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
"We consider that with this decision, 'Israel' wants to demolish the peace process and international efforts to advance this process," he added. Erekat called on the US administration to pressure 'Israel' to reverse its decision.