Israel has approved 1,800 illegal settlement units since the beginning of the year

Israeli government has approved the building of 1,805 new settlement

units in the Palestinian territories during the last three months.

It has been disclosed that the Israeli occupation authorities have seized hundreds of acres of agricultural land in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem for the benefit of illegal settlement and Judaisation projects. A report prepared by the Palestine Liberation Organisation to coincide with Land Day also claims that Israel has given approval for 1,800 new housing units on illegal settlements since the beginning of 2012. It seems, says the PLO, that the pace and scope of the Israeli occupation is being stepped up, with more Palestinian land being stolen by force.

This year alone, Israel has seized more than 3.5 million square metres of Palestinian land to expand its illegal settlements and construct the "apartheid" wall. More than 1.2 million square metres of land owned by Palestinians in Walajeh, south of occupied Jerusalem, has been earmarked by the Israelis for a so-called "biblical garden".

According to the report, the Israeli government has approved the building of 1,805 new settlement units in the Palestinian territories during the last three months, including nearly a thousand units to be built in settlements located in occupied Jerusalem.

The report added that more than 90 buildings including houses, tents, barracks and industrial installations belonging to Palestinians were demolished by Israel to make way for its illegal building plans. The PLO mentions that while this ongoing colonisation is taking place, the Israelis have also been destroying homes and other buildings in Gaza with their aerial bombardments.

Details noted in the report include the 35 Palestinians who have been killed by the Israelis in the first three months of 2012, including 7 children; 175 people were wounded in the recent attacks on the Gaza Strip. Almost 800 Palestinians have been arrested by Israel in a period which has seen the longest hunger strike ever to take place in an Israeli prison; the prisoner was protesting against Israel's oppression of the people of Palestine.

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