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Last update - 12:54 26/08/2008
Peace Now: West Bank settlement construction nearly doubled this year
By Nadav Shragai
Tags: Peace Now, Israel 

More than 2,600 housing units are under construction in West Bank settlements, including units in more than 1,000 new buildings, Peace Now contends in its semi-annual report.

Basing its conclusions on aerial photographs and field visits, the organization says that slightly more than half of the new structures are going up east of the separation fence, and in several places construction is encroaching on the boundaries of Palestinian towns, such as Ramallah and Bethlehem.

National Bureau of Statistics data shows that construction in settlements jumped from 240 housing units between January and May 2007 to 433 housing units during the same period this year. Housing and Construction Ministry projects account for 64 percent of all building starts cataloged.
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Peace Now reports an increase of 550 percent in the number of tenders for construction in the settlements: 417 housing units compared to just 65 in 2007; 125 new buildings at outposts, including 30 permanent structures.

The report also addresses construction over the Green Line within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, an area in which 200,000 Jews now live. East Jerusalem saw an increase in tenders for construction of housing units to 46 this year, from 38 during January-May 2007.

The upshot of its latest report, says Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheimer, is that "Israel is erasing the Green Line through intensive construction intended to create territorial continuity between settlement blocs and isolated settlements in the heart of the West Bank, with this construction approaching Palestinian cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah."

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      1.   Take that, America! 04:17  |  W 26/08/08
      2.   Peace Now! 05:07  |  harry 26/08/08
      3.   good news! 05:11  |  Al 26/08/08
      4.   Bye-bye 2-State... 05:44  |  Victor 26/08/08
      5.   Anti-Jews Entity 05:54  |  Brod 26/08/08
      6.   everybody who even remotely follows events 06:43  |  rm 26/08/08
      7.   Good! Israel is growing, God Bless! 07:05  |  Avenger of Israel 26/08/08
      8.   and this news is surprising? 07:09  |  rm 26/08/08
      9.   Not enough 07:14  |  Jew from Arab cntry 26/08/08
      10.   I guess Israel wants a bi-national state 07:21  |  Lifelong Zionist 26/08/08
      11.   Take that, Israel 07:24  |  America 26/08/08
      12.   Working towards One State 07:24  |  Mark of Lewiston 26/08/08
      13.   Arabs have no case as to the Land of Israel! 07:25  |  Jean Van Daem 26/08/08
      14.   Thievery 07:32  |  Blair 26/08/08
      15.   FANTASTIC!!! 07:34  |  Wise Saba 26/08/08
      16.   That is good news 07:43  |  Robert 26/08/08
      17.   I Keep Telling You: We Will ALWAYS Build Here In OUR Land 07:49  |  Yishai Kohen 26/08/08
      18.   Appease Now!!! And its euro donors 07:54  |  Jacob 26/08/08
      19.   Key question: Where does the gelt come from...? 07:56  |  Esther 26/08/08
      20.   "Peace" now is a terrorist funded orginization! 08:07  |  Traitors R US 26/08/08
      21.   Israel does not want peace. 08:12  |  Maki 26/08/08
      22.   Doesn`t matter, since they are all leaving anyway 08:12  |  Natallie Durson 26/08/08
      23.   Thieves never sleep. Go Hamas!!! 08:20  |  Niva dos Santos 26/08/08
      24.   try to make it 1000% and then the mandate will be fulfilled 08:20  |  vhardman 26/08/08
      25.   Havent Peace Now got anything better to do? 08:29  |  Israeli 26/08/08
      26.   peace now 08:30  |  gavriel 26/08/08
      27.   Instead of complaining, Peace Now should push for peace making... 08:32  |  Nadav 26/08/08
      28.   Peace Now gets its statistics wrong 08:58  |  x-ray 26/08/08
      29.   Construction in the West Bank 09:01  |  Rachel 26/08/08
      30.   No problem 09:19  |  Uri 26/08/08
      31.   #2 Harry and what are you doing to bring back Gilad 09:20  |  SJ 26/08/08
      32.   construction 09:29  |  colin 26/08/08
      33.   Israeli gesture of total contempt for both neighbours and world 09:31  |  Ivar 26/08/08
      34.   @W: This is how Israel says thank you 09:34  |  Goy 26/08/08
      35.   @hary: Do settlements bring Gilad Shalit back? 09:35  |  Goy 26/08/08
      36.   Sustainable peace?! 09:41  |  Erik 26/08/08
      37.   construction nearly doubled this year 09:52  |  Ralph 26/08/08
      38.   How much Hamas pays to PN? 09:59  |  Vitaly 26/08/08
      39.   Peace Now 10:01  |  Morris Amsel 26/08/08
      40.   ISRAEL IS CORRUPTING THEIR OWN SOULS 10:07  |  indrajaya 26/08/08
      41.   and israel wants peace....!!!! 10:11  |  ravi 26/08/08
      42.   pace now is obsessed 10:16  |  Joe 26/08/08
      43.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 10:18  |  Clickfool 26/08/08
      44.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 10:22  |  Clickfool 26/08/08
      45.   boris the clucking fool and the palestine mandate 10:31  |  vhardman 26/08/08
      46.   Land grabbing 10:37  |  Victoria 26/08/08
      47.   DOES HAARETZ KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ISRAELS RIGHTS? 10:40  |  vhardman 26/08/08
      48.   who funds peace now 10:44  |  LA 26/08/08
      49.   When West Bank was clean of Jews (1967) 10:50  |  Rachel 26/08/08
      50.   What is all the fuss ABOUT? 10:57  |  Gil 26/08/08
      51.   What is all the fuss ABOUT? 10:58  |  Gil 26/08/08
      52.   2 state solution - Israel and Jordan 11:02  |  Dr Eric 26/08/08
      53.   Clickfool and `Jewish Greed` #44 11:11  |  secular 26/08/08
      54.   Settlements not peace 11:24  |  Sylvie 26/08/08
      55.   Thank you Peace Now 11:24  |  Marco 26/08/08
      56.   #5 Brod 11:28  |  Baal 26/08/08
      57.   Clickfool (#43) Not Quite So, 11:29  |  Gil 26/08/08
      58.   Clickfool (#43) Not Quite So, 11:30  |  Gil 26/08/08
      59.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 11:33  |  Dutch 26/08/08
      60.   To millitaristic Clickfool. 11:38  |  Vital 26/08/08
      61.   Two-faced 11:42  |  Dafna 26/08/08
      62.   Who is greedy, Clickfool? 11:50  |  Zion Watchman 26/08/08
      63.   Brod and the Bible 11:57  |  Keith T. 26/08/08
      64.   "Israel Is Erasing The Green Line..." 12:00  |  Jeff Northridge 26/08/08
      65.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 12:03  |  Dutch 26/08/08
      66.   The cold, naked numbers will not do here. 12:04  |  TonyL 26/08/08
      67.   To #4 12:05  |  Leah 26/08/08
      68.   Few nations can match the fundamental legitimacy that Israel has. 12:06  |  Jean Van Daem 26/08/08
      69.   BRITISH greed for OTHER people`s LAND is UNENDING 12:11  |  CK Tan 26/08/08
      70.   Clickfool 12:13  |  TonyL 26/08/08
      71.   Clickfool (#43) Not Quite So 12:14  |  Gil 26/08/08
      72.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 12:21  |  Dutch 26/08/08
      73.