The Palestine Liberation Organization said today, Saturday, that Israel has recently started building residential buildings consisting of 10 floors in a number of its settlements in the West Bank.
The National Bureau for Land Defense and Resistance to Settlement in the PLO stated in a report that construction of residential buildings had begun in "Beit El" settlement north of Ramallah and a number of other settlements.
The report indicated that the move falls within the framework of settlement expansion and an increase in the number of settlers in the West Bank, including immigrants to Israel.
The report warned of "undeclared annexation steps that Israel is implementing in the West Bank, including changing a detailed map of the lands east and west of Bethlehem in favor of settlement expansion."
He explained that the new map indicates the cancellation of roads and the opening of other roads in the targeted area, which paves the way for the establishment of settlement projects in the eastern Bethlehem desert, especially after the confiscation of large areas of land in the area.
The report pointed to the initiation of the establishment of parks on these facilities and public facilities in the Bethlehem desert, "which portends a silent annexation of the area by converting it into residential areas for the benefit of settlements."
The settlement file is the most prominent file of disagreement between the Palestinians and Israel, in light of the stalled peace talks between the two sides since 2014, noting that more than half a million Israeli settlers reside in the West Bank.
