Israel has approved the construction of 12,159 illegal settlement units in theoccupied West Bank this year, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said Saturday.
On Thursday, theIsraeli government approved a plan to build 3,212 new units in the Jewish-onlysettlements in the West Bank.
“The [Israeli] movecame after the signing of normalization agreements with the United ArabEmirates and Bahrain under US auspices,” the PLO said in a statement.
“This is a defianceto international law and UN resolutions and disregard to the internationalcommunity,” it added.
Last month, the UAEand Bahrain agreed to establish full diplomatic, cultural, and commercialrelations with Israel after signing controversial US-sponsored agreements onSept. 15 at the White House.
Abu Dhabi and Manamaalleged that their deals with Israel halted the Israeli annexation plan, whichtakes almost 30% of the occupied West Bank. However, on several occasionsIsraeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed the planis only postponed.
Moreover, Israeli authorities on Thursday issued three military orders to confiscate 11,000dunums (around 2,700 acres) from the occupied Jordan Valley in the West Bank.
The West Bank,including East Jerusalem, is regarded as occupied territory under internationallaw, thus making all Jewish settlements there illegal.
