Israel approves building 90 settler units in East al-Quds

The Israeli regime has approved the construction of 90 illegal settler units in the occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in apparent defiance of international calls to end such unauthorized activities in the Palestinian territories.

Israeli media reported that the construction permit for the illegal Gilo settlement was granted on Wednesday.

The development came a few days after Tel Aviv approved plans to construct 800 new housing units for settlers in and around East al-Quds.

According to reports, 560 and 140 units will be built in the illegal settlements of Ma’ale Adumim and Ramot, respectively. Another 100 will also be constructed in the Har Homa (Jabal Abu Ghneim) and Pisgat Zeev settlements.

The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East. 

Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank including East al-Quds.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under the international law. Tel Aviv has defied calls to stop the settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.

A recent report by the Quartet on the Middle East called on the Israeli regime to halt its illegal settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying settlement expansion, the demolition of Palestinian homes and the expropriation of land were “steadily eroding the viability of the [so-called] two-state solution.”

Gaza crossing to open after nine years

In another development on Wednesday, Israel said a major crossing point between the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories will reopen for the first time in nine years in a bid to allow imports into the besieged coastal enclave.

"The Erez crossing point will again be open to goods entering Gaza" as of Thursday, a spokesman for a unit in the Israeli Ministry of Military Affairs told AFP.

Erez, situated at the northern part of the Gaza Strip, has been restricted to individuals over the past nine years, with goods going through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Israel has also waged three wars on Gaza since 2008, including the 2014 offensive that left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead and over 11,100 others injured.

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