The Israeli government has approved new plans of settlements in the contentious zone of the West Bank. The plan comes just before Israel is set to elect its new government on Tuesday.
Benjamin Netanyahu, who seeks to be elected for a record fifth term, has approved the plans while the parties in Israel were busy campaigning. The plan to establish an outpost which is in the West Bank is set into motion after the approval was given during a cabinet meeting.
Just days earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister had made a pledge to annex the area of the Jordon Valley. The pledge led to widespread condemnation from the international community.
The settlement is located in the Jordan valley which amounts to one-third of the region in West Bank.
As per the international law, Israeli settlements are considered illegal yet the government chooses to distinguish between the settlements it has recognized and the ones which still await approval.
The cabinet approval would mean that it can only be approved by a new government as a transitional government cannot approve such plans.
This announcement would reaffirm the right-wing vote base of the current Likud party which is facing tough competition from the centrist Blue and White Party.
According to a report in Dawn, some 400,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank area. The approval would also send a message to the ones who believe in the two-state solution over the future of a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.
Israel has been controlling the Jordan Valley and the Northern Dead since 1967.
US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Middle-East is much awaited as it could provide a road map for all the parties involved to maintain peace and stability in the region. It looks like a distant dream with the current political climate.
Netanyahu, who has a good working relationship with the US President, said that he would annex the Jordan Valley but in co-ordination to the peace plan. According to an article published in Haaretz, the peace plan is expected to be released post the elections on Tuesday.