According to local media, Israel is going to establish the first new settlement in the West Bank since 2017, as stated by an Israeli Civil Administration—the area authority—statement.
According to Xinhua news agency and the Times of Israel, the future settlement would be called Nahal Heletz and would sit on some 148 acres, approximately 600,000 square meters southwest of Jerusalem and next to Bethlehem.
However, Nahal Heletz development is going to be a long process, as much time will be needed to complete the finalization of the zoning plans and construction permits.
Peace Now, a group that opposes such settlements, said Nahal Heletz would create a large enclave inside a Palestinian area and could be a source of friction and security headaches. According to the group, this settlement was designed to break up the contiguity of the land that is to be given to the Palestinians, which in turn makes it part of what it called Israel's "de facto annexation" of the West Bank.
Furthermore, Peace Now has gone ahead to indicate that the settlement is to be built on land belonging to Battir, a Palestinian village famous for its ancient agricultural terraces, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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