TEL AVIV, September 7, 2011 (WAFA) – Pace of construction in West Bank settlements (not including East Jerusalem) was double its rate in Israel proper, according to a new report by the Israeli Peace Now organization published Wednesday.
“Peace Now research has revealed that whereas in Israel the pace of construction since the settlement freeze (in October 2010 – July 2011) was one housing unit for every 235 residents, in the settlements the pace of construction was a housing unit for every 123 residents, which is to say that there is nearly 2 times more construction in the settlements than in Israel,” said the report.
Basing its data on analysis of aerial photos of settlements and field visits, Peace Now said that there are 2598 building starts, 2149 completed housing units and at least 3700 units were under construction during the last 10 months.
The report said that one-third of the building starts (826 units) are being built in the isolated settlements east of the barrier Israel is building on West Bank land to separate it from Israel. About one-third (869 units) are being built west of the barrier and a little more than one third (903 units) are being built east of barrier but west of planned route of the fence, that is in “fingers” extending deep into the West Bank.
It said the Israeli government is avoiding completion of construction in the “fingers” for political reasons.
“While Israel suffers from a housing shortage, in the settlements the dream of a ground-level house with a garden is coming true,” said Peace Now. “Alongside the crowded construction in the big settlements (Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit and Maale Adumim), there has been an increase in the construction of cottages and villas in the settlements.”
It said that some of the construction taking place today is the result of permits granted by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and some is based on old permits granted by previous governments. It said that the Netanyahu government authorized for marketing at least 1543 new housing units in the West Bank settlements, 1051 of which were approved after the building freeze.
“There is less of a need for the authorization of new plans than for permits for marketing, because there are nearly 38,000 housing units in the settlements whose planning was authorized in the past, and all they need to be built is a marketing permit,” said the report.
M.A.
