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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Israeli government of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, granted Thursday its official approval for the construction of 800 units in the Gilo illegal settlement, south of occupied Jerusalem.

Construction bids will be made public in the coming few months, Israeli Peace Now Movement reported.

Director the Settlement Watch project of Peace Now, Hagit Ofran, said that a plan for the construction of 800 units was published in an Israeli paper, an issue that means that the construction plan reached its final stages, and that construction bids could be issued at any moment.

The 800 units will be built west of Gilo settlement; the Construction and Planning Committee at the Ministry of Interior has granted its final approval.

Israel’s illegal settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territories, including in occupied East Jerusalem, are largely constructed on privately owned Palestinian lands, or on land that Israel labels as “state land”.

Israel’s ongoing settlements activities were among the reasons that pushed the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to quit direct peace talks with Tel Aviv.

Israel focuses its settlement activities in sensitive areas in the occupied West Bank, such as in and around occupied East Jerusalem, hilltops, the Jordan Valley and all areas that have water resources and fertile grounds.