Israel to build 1,500 West Bank homes

The Palestinians are threatening an “unprecedented” response to Israel’s decision to build another 1,500 homes for settlers in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, including an appeal to the international justice system.

Israel unveiled the plans yesterday in what housing minister Uri Ariel described as a "fitting Zionist response to the formation of a Palestinian terror government" – a reference to the unity government formed earlier this week with the support of the Islamist Hamas.

Mr Ariel said the housing plans were “just the beginning” and tenders for an additional 1,500 units were being planned. “When Israel is spat upon, it has to do something about it,” he told Israel radio.

The decision came after prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed “deep disappointment” over Washington’s decision to endorse the new Palestinian government despite Israel’s bitter objections.

The US move was quickly followed by statements of support from the European Union and the United Nations for the new Palestinian administration, which has promised to hold elections in the West Bank and Gaza in December.

Escalation Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the Palestinians view Israel’s latest “escalation” with the utmost seriousness.

“The Palestine Liberation Organisation will counter it by addressing both the United Nations security council and the general assembly as the proper way of curbing this grave violation and ensuring accountability,” she said.

Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat confirmed that the Palestinian leadership was considering going to the international courts to stop settlement construction, an option made possible since the Palestinians won observer status at the United Nations in 2012.

“Those who fear the international courts should stop their war crimes against the Palestinian people, first and foremost of which is settlement activity,” he said.

Israel had held off announcing new settlement building over recent months in what the right-wing had termed a “silent freeze” because of pressure from Washington.

About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Moderate ministers criticised the settlement expansion.

Justice minister Tzipi Livni, who led the Israeli negotiations with the Palestinians, said the building will harm only Israel.

Opposition Leader Yitzhak Herzog from Labour said the Netanyahu government opted to “thumb its nose at Barack Obama and engage in diplomatic pyromania”.

US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro defended the administration’s decision to work with the new Palestinian government and criticised the housing plans: “We are against building in the settlements. This was our stand with or without the present disagreement over the new Palestinian interim government.”

He stressed that the administration still considered Hamas a terrorist organisation but noted that the new Palestinian cabinet is comprised of technocrats without political affiliation.

“There is no direct Hamas influence that we discern behind the scenes,” he said.