Netanyahu vows to move ahead on new
settlement plan
JERUSALEM, March 30, 2017 (AFP) - Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday to move ahead on a plan to create
Israel's first new settlement in the occupied West Bank in more than 20 years
despite international concern over the issue.
"I promised to create a new community and we are going to
respect that commitment and create it today," Netanyahu said in a
statement from his office ahead of an expected meeting of his security cabinet
in the evening.
He said details would be released in the coming hours.
Netanyahu has said previously he intends to build a new
settlement for residents of a wildcat Jewish outpost in the West Bank known as
Amona, which was evacuated under court order in February.
An Israeli government-sanctioned settlement would be the first
official new settlement in more than 20 years and would surely draw
international criticism.
Construction in recent years has involved expanding existing
settlements in the West Bank, with many countries warning it is gradually
eating away at any chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu has been in discussions with US President Donald
Trump's administration on how to move ahead with settlement building.
Trump, while pledging unstinting support for Israel, has also
called on Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a little bit"
while his administrations looks for ways to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Settlements are seen as illegal under international law and
major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see
as part of their future state.
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