The construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has nearly doubled over 2007, despite Israel's pledge to freeze such activities, an Israeli watchdog said Tuesday.
According to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), construction in the settlements has increased by a factor of 1.8
by comparison to the same period last year, said the Settlement Watch Team of the monitoring group Peace Now in a report.
"The Housing Ministry initiated 433 new housing units during the period of January-May 2008, compared to just 240 housing units during the same period of 2007," said the report, noting that construction initiated by the Housing Ministry accounted for 64 percent of all the construction counted in the West Bank by the CBS in recent months.
The group also found that over 1,000 new buildings, containing some 2,600 housing units, are currently being constructed in the settlements, of which approximately 55 percent are located to the east of the separation fence.
Another 125 new structures, including 30 permanent houses, have been added to the Jewish outposts, sites the Jewish state considers illegal and has pledged to uproot under the Roadmap peace plan, said the watchdog.
Meanwhile, the number of tenders for construction in the settlements has increased by 550 percent, from 65 units in the first five months last year to 417 in the same period this year, while the number of tenders in east Jerusalem has increased by a factor of 38, with 1,761 housing units this year compared to 46 in2007, according to the report.
The Peace Now group accuses Israel of repeating the mistakes of the past, "by on the one hand negotiating an agreement with the Palestinians and in parallel constructing in the settlements," which undermines the Palestinian partners and obstructs efforts to reach a peace agreement.
The report was released when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was visiting the area for the seventh time since Palestinian and Israeli leaders pledged to reach a comprehensive peace deal by the end of 2008 at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis last November.
Little visible progress has since been achieved, as large gaps still remain on the key issues, including the settlement activity and the status of Jerusalem.
Source:Xinhua
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