Occupied Jerusalem, February 16 (QNA) - The Jerusalem Governorate affirmed that an agreement to build approximately 2,780 settlement units to expand a settlement established on Palestinian land north of occupied Jerusalem reveals, in essence, annexation intentions.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Governorate said the agreement constitutes a misleading cover aimed at expanding the boundaries of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem beyond the Green Line, as part of a calculated policy to impose new sovereign realities on the ground without an official declaration.
It explained that the plan provides for the construction of hundreds of settlement units on land geographically separated from a nearby settlement in the same area, with no direct roads currently linking them, despite previous proposals to establish a bridge connecting the two.
The Governorate noted that the advancement and acceleration of the plan followed extensive settlement-related changes introduced by Minister of Finance in the Israeli government, Bezalel Smotrich, including the creation of mechanisms to expedite approval of settlement projects in the West Bank, enabling the plan's implementation within a few years.
It stressed that the overall measures expose the occupation's policy of gradual annexation and the imposition of de facto sovereignty, within a broader project aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of occupied Jerusalem and undermining any possibility of a political solution based on international law.
On February 3, the occupation government announced the signing of an agreement with a substantial budget to establish approximately 2,780 new settlement units, accompanied by roads, infrastructure, and various facilities near a settlement built on Palestinian land. (QNA)