RAMALLAH / Awad al-Rajoub / Anadolu

The Palestinian Applied Research Institute 'ARIJ' said Thursday that Israeli authorities have approved a new settlement plan targeting about 6,000 dunams of land in Bethlehem province, south of the occupied West Bank.

The research institute, a non-profit organization, noted in a statement that the general assembly of the so-called 'Gush Etzion Settlements Regional Council' approved on July 20 a large-scale settlement structural plan for the area southeast of the 'Tekoa' settlement south of Bethlehem, extending over an area of approximately 6,000 dunams (one dunam equals 1,000 square meters).

It added that the plan includes the establishment of residential areas, tourist facilities, operational zones, agricultural land, as well as open spaces and roads in the area.

It mentioned that the approval of the new settlement plan came a week after the head of the Gush Etzion Settlements Council, Yaron Rosenthal, announced the Israeli government's approval to establish 6 new settlements in the settlement bloc.

ARIJ explained that the western and eastern rural areas of Bethlehem province, which are the backbone of settlement for the Israeli government, are known to Israelis as the 'Gush Etzion' settlement bloc, which includes about 30 settlements with a population of up to 120,000 settlers.

According to a report by the Palestinian Authority's Commission against the Wall and Settlement, during the first 1,000 days of the genocide war on the Gaza Strip, Israel seized about 60,000 dunams of Palestinian land in the West Bank, while Israeli planning authorities studied 524 structural plans in favor of settlements.

Settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law, while the West Bank has seen an escalation in Israeli settlement activities, incursions, and arrests since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

Israeli army and settler attacks in the West Bank have resulted in the killing of 1,182 Palestinians, while about 24,000 Palestinians have been arrested, according to official Palestinian data as of Monday.