This Oct 13, 2021 file photo shows construction in the Israeli settlement of Rahalim, located near the village of Yatma, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
RAMALLAH – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday warned of "escalation of settlement activities" in the West Bank and East Jerusalem with the formation of the new Israeli government.
On Friday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, announced that he has succeeded in forming a coalition government with several other hardline and ultra-Orthodox parties.
Palestinian leaders and officials have consistently warned that expanding Israeli settlement and confiscating Palestinian lands in the West Bank would undermine the two-state solution
"The rise of Zionist fascist parties threatens an unprecedented escalation in settlement activities and confiscation of Palestinian lands," the PLO's National Office for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance said in a report sent to Xinhua.
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According to the report, Netanyahu would significantly reduce his participation in construction approvals in the settlements after this authority was transferred to the Religious Zionist Party led by Bezalel Smotrich, according to the coalition agreements.
The PLO report said Israel had built 3,100 settlement units in East Jerusalem in 2022.
Palestinian leaders and officials have consistently warned that expanding Israeli settlement and confiscating Palestinian lands in the West Bank would undermine the two-state solution.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to official Palestinian figures.
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In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, all claimed by the Palestinians, and has controlled or blockaded these areas ever since.