Israel Begins Construction On First Settlement In 20 Years

Israel began building a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank north of Ramallah to house several hundred residents who were forced to leave the nearby outpost of Amona after it was found to have been built on Palestinian land. The groundbreaking came as President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his senior advisor Jason Greenblatt are both in the region holding talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on how to restart moribund peace talks. In the past, Israel has not announced or started major construction projects in the West Bank while senior US officials were visiting. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu even posted a photograph on Twitter of cranes starting to build homes in the new settlement called Amichai. “After 20 years I have the privilege to be the Prime Minister who build a new settlement in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu wrote. Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the move showed that Israel was trying to stop the Trump Administration’s efforts to renew peace talks and said it is a “serious escalation” of settlement building. President Obama had been sharply critical of Israeli construction in the West Bank, which Palestinians say must become part of a future Palestinian state.