The anti-settlement organization "Peace Now" stated on Thursday that "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing religious government has pushed for a record number of housing units to be built in settlements in the occupied West Bank during the first six months of its term." The organization announced in a statement that "Israel has advanced the construction of 12,855 housing units for settlers throughout the West Bank since January, marking the highest number recorded by the organization since it began tracking this activity in 2012." It added, "In the past six months, the only sector that Israel has strongly encouraged is the settlement project."
Most countries consider the Jewish settlements established on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war to be illegal, and their ongoing expansion has been one of the most contentious issues between Israel, the Palestinians, and the international community. Palestinian leaders have sought to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. They argue that the settlements separate Palestinian communities from each other and undermine hopes for a viable state.
The United States, Israel's main ally and mediator in negotiations that have stalled since 2014, has consistently expressed its objections to ongoing Israeli settlement expansion. The United Nations reports that approximately 700,000 settlers live in 279 settlements throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem, up from 520,000 in 2012. More than three million Palestinians live in the same area under Israeli military rule, which some human rights groups say amounts to apartheid.
