Israel unveils 1,800 settler homes after Kerry visit | NEW POWER

Israel unveils 1,800 settler homes after Kerry visit | NEW POWER

 [In Palestine there is a genocide by the
Zionists against the Palestinians. However, this genocide is in slow
motion, so to speak. It is a genocide by attrition. The Zionists yap and
pretend to negotiate, but the reality is that they keep taking more
Palestinian land. Thus they make a Palestinian state not viable. It is a
generational strategy, a kind of protracted, imperial-settler warfare.
It is a tragedy for the Palestinians. And the USA pretends that a fair, 
negotiated peace is possible. All the while, the USA bankrolls and arms
the forces of genocide. -- NP]

Israel unveils 1,800 settler homes after Kerry visit

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel unveiled plans
Friday for more than 1,800 new settler homes in a move the Palestinians
said was aimed at forcing Washington to abandon its Middle East peace
drive.

The
announcement triggered concerns in Washington and at the United Nations,
and came just days after US Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up
his latest visit to the region as part of tireless efforts to coax
Israel and the Palestinians towards an elusive peace deal.

The
settlement move was widely believed to be an Israeli response to the
release 10 days ago of a third batch of veteran Palestinian prisoners in
accordance with commitments made to Washington last year.

Just
days before the 26 prisoners were freed, an Israeli official warned that
the government would push ahead with plans for new settler homes as it
has done twice previously in a bid to appease hardliners in the
right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Friday’s
announcement will see the construction of 1,076 units in annexed east
Jerusalem and 801 in the occupied West Bank, a spokesman for Israeli
settlement watchdog Peace Now told AFP.

“The housing ministry announced the plans this morning,” said Lior Amihai.

“Many
of the units will be built in existing settlements such as Efrat and
Ariel in the West Bank, and Ramat Shlomo, Ramot and Pisgat Zeev in east
Jerusalem.”