WEST BANK (Dispatches) – A Zionist commander has ordered the construction of a new settlement north of the occupied West Bank for settlers of a former "unauthorized” outpost.
The chief of the Zionist regime’s central command, Maj. Gen. Roni Numa, issued the order for the residents of the Amona outpost , Israeli paper Ha’aretz reported.
The settlers had rejected a number of alternatives, including their absorption into existing settlements. Amona spokesman Avihai Boaron welcomed the decision, saying, "It is sadly too early to celebrate.”
The regime occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, another Palestinian territory, in 1967. It has since built over 230 settlements in the lands in what is seen as a precursor to a possible annexation.
The announcements come after U.S. President Donald Trump visited the region where he reiterated Washington's commitment to the Zionist regime’s security. Encouraged by Trump's election, the regime unveiled plans in April to build 25,000 settler units in al-Quds. ?
The regime’s Construction Minister Yoav Gallant said Tel Aviv "has said today, with a clear and clarion voice ‘the eyes of the Jewish people have been directed toward Jerusalem and the Western Wall for 2,000 years."
Israel, he said, "is not only declaring that the Western Wall belongs to it, but it is also investing its resources in it.’”
Tel Aviv lays claim to al-Quds in its entirety, including the eastern occupied section which Palestinians want for their capital.
Separately, the occupying regime’s education ministry approved a plan to encourage Arab schools in East al-Quds to switch to the Israeli curriculum.
The ministry said, "The purpose of this five-year plan is to improve the quality of education in East Jerusalem (al-Quds), with an emphasis on encouraging the study of the Israeli curriculum in the schools.”
"This is part of an effort to improve the quality of life and the environment in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and to enhance the ability of East Jerusalem residents to integrate into the Israeli economy and society, and thus strengthen the economic and social resilience of the entire capital,” it added.