Israeli authorities increased building in West Bank settlements by 40 percent during the first half of 2016, according to data released on Wednesday, September 14, by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS). The Israeli peace movement Peace Now responded to the figures by warning of an inevitable “one-state reality.”

Heavy construction machinery work as the building of a housing project resumes in the occupied West Bank Israeli settlement of Ariel (Photo: Xinhua)

In a statement released by Peace Now, the group cited recent data released by ICBS providing statistics on starts of Israeli housing construction since the beginning of the year. These figures indicate that Israeli authorities commenced construction of 1,195 units in Israeli settlements across the West Bank, during the first six months of 2016, marking a 40 percent increase from the previous six months. At the same time, starts for home construction inside of Israel dropped 3 percent from the previous half year, according to the data. “Netanyahu is the prime minister of one sector only – the settler sector, which comprises of less than 5 percent of the Israeli population,” Peace Now said in the statement, adding that “[Netanyahu]’s investments in the settlements do not only come at the expense of the Negev, the Galilee and the rest of Israel but also lead towards a one-state reality.”

According to a previous statement released by Peace Now, the Civil Administration’s High Planning Committee validated plans for 20 housing units in the settlement of Givat Zeev, and 30 in Bet Arye, while 179 housing units were retroactively approved in Ofarim. The group added that plans for approving the approval of 234 additional units in the settlement of Elqana were being discussed.

According to Peace Now, Israel has approved plans for 2,623 new units in West Bank settlements since the beginning of this year, 756 of which were the retroactive legalization of units previously constructed without authorization.

Human rights groups and international leaders have strongly condemned Israel’s settlement construction, claiming it is a strategic maneuver to prevent the establishment of a contiguous, independent Palestinian state by changing the facts on the ground, while far-right members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, have publicly announced their support for plans aimed at annexing Area C in its entirety.