West Bank infrastructure projects help ‘expand’ illegal settlements

Newly built roads in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli authorities entrench the de facto annexation already taking place in the area, an Israeli monitoring group said.

Breaking the Silence, an Israeli organization aims to raise awareness to the dire consequences of military occupation, said in a recent report titled Highway to Annexation, these new road plans will lead to an illegal settlement sprawl, fragmenting the Palestinian land.

It said that these road projects are designed to benefit the settlers while segregating the Palestinians and also stifle their urban development.

The report also said that the Israel’s plan in the long run cause building of more Israeli settlements instead benefiting Palestinian people living in dire conditions.

The report also draws attention to no Palestinian involvement in the plan of these roads.

“The construction of roads gave easy access to the city from settlements to its north, east, and south and helped turn these areas into massive settlement blocs.”

The group noted that infrastructure growth poses a significant barrier to ending the occupation.

“All those invested in an equitable and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should see these projects as a clear declaration of Israel’s intent to further advance annexation, and the international community must intervene to halt such moves,” the report said.

Israel continues to expand illegal settlements and related infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.

Israel’s building of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal under international law.

In the West Bank, approximately 630,000 Jews live in some 250 settlements, 210,000 in East Jerusalem and 420,000 in other parts of the West Bank.

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