An official Palestinian report said on Sunday that Israel had approved the construction of 6,719 settlement units in 2020.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said in its annual report that the Israeli authorities had deposited, for approval, plans that include 8,060 settlement units during the same year.
The Commission referred to Israel´s move to support the proposed law providing tax exemptions and facilities to settlements established in the Palestinian territories through amendments to the tax law.
Since the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, the total areas of Palestinian lands that were declared by the occupation authorities as "state lands," reached about 1,700 square kilometers, accounting for 30% of the total land of the West Bank, according to the commission.
She added that parts of these lands have been allocated for the establishment of settlements, or placed at the disposal of settlers, or left as a reserve for the increasing needs of the Israeli settlement project.
She stated that the past year witnessed "a fevered race between decision-makers in Israel to propose draft laws, or to ratify laws calling for the annexation of part or all of the West Bank lands to Israel, or at least the legalization of Israeli installations on it."
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission monitored the demolition of 869 Palestinian buildings and facilities during the year 2020 in the West Bank, a 65% increase in demolitions compared to 2019.
It indicated that 817 Israeli notifications were issued, including demolition, construction halting, and an additional opportunity to object to demolition orders, and 60% of those notifications were concentrated in the Hebron, Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates.
