Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking Cabinet approval for a plan to expand Palestinian construction in Area C of the West Bank, according to an Israeli media report on Monday.
Netanyahu apparently wants unanimous support from government ministers for the move, Kan news reported.
Senior government sources quoted in the report did not say if the move was linked to the upcoming visit of senior White House adviser Jared Kushner. Senior government officials told Kan that the plan is an “extremely sensitive” matter.
In response to the report, Israeli NGO Regavim issued a sharp response:
“As the Palestinian Authority is actively carrying out an illegal takeover of Area C, we hope that this report is inaccurate and that the Cabinet hearing did not focus on approving a plan that plays into the hands of [Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas], a plan that will serve as the silver platter on which he will be handed the terrorist state in the heart of Israel he has dreamed of establishing.”
The statement went on to add that “the only place for large-scale construction projects that serve the Arab sector in Judea and Samaria is the area under P.A. jurisdiction.”
