AhlulBayt News Agency: Palestinian authorities have strongly condemned an Israeli settlement plan that would see the construction of nearly 9,000 settler homes in the central occupied West Bank, describing it as a “dangerous” threat to the region’s geography and demographics.
In a statement issued Monday, the al-Quds Governorate warned that the project “endangers the geographical and demographic connections between al-Quds and Ramallah.”
“The Israeli occupation authorities are attempting to carry out a dangerous settlement scheme on the lands of al-Quds International Airport and surrounding areas,” the statement added.
The governorate cautioned that the plan “would create a settlement enclave separating northern al-Quds from its Palestinian environment.”
The proposed settlements are slated to be built in densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods, including Kafr Aqab, Qalandia, Al-Ram, Beit Hanina, and Bir Nabala.
According to the governorate, the initiative “deepens the policy of separation and isolation imposed on the city and its surroundings, undermining any political horizon based on the two-state solution.”
An Israeli committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss advancing the controversial project.
Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that 810 million shekels will be allocated to establish around 20 new settlements over the next five years, calling it the largest single investment in settlement expansion in decades.
Smotrich, who oversees civil administration in the occupied West Bank, described the plan as a strategic effort to “strengthen Jewish presence” throughout the territory.
The decision has sparked widespread international criticism. Palestinian leaders, Arab states, the United Nations, and the European Union have denounced the project, with Palestinian officials labeling it “ethnic cleansing by other means.”
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the plan represents “a dangerous escalation that eliminates any chance for peace and directly challenges international legitimacy.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged immediate sanctions against Israel, while Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad vowed to resist “continued aggression against the Palestinian people.”
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