Israel has issued tenders for the construction of nearly 1,200 units of housing in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, three days before the scheduled start of peace-talks, despite US and Palestinian opposition to the expansion of Jewish settlements.
The announcement of new settlements came as an Israeli ministerial committee simultaneously agreed to release 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners, as a goodwill gesture ahead of the peace talks.
A Palestinian negotiator and member of the West Bank’s ruling Fatah movement, Mohammed Shtayyeh, doubted Israel’s sincerity in the upcoming peace-talks stating,
“It is clear that the Israeli government is deliberately attempting to sabotage the US and international efforts to resume negotiations by approving more settlement units three days before the first Palestinian-Israeli meeting.”
