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The Israeli government has approved plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a monitoring group has said – a move that will only increase tensions over the war in Gaza.
Word of the decision emerged as an Israeli official said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had decided to send negotiators to resume ceasefire talks over Gaza.
Diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the nine-month war in Gaza appear to be stirring back to life after weeks of little movement. The night before, the militant Hamas group said it gave mediators its latest response to a US-backed proposal for a phased ceasefire.
Fighting has intensified between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, with Hezbollah saying on Thursday that it fired more than 200 rockets and exploding drones into northern Israel to avenge the killing of a senior commander in an Israeli airstrike the day before.
The strikes have raised fears of a potentially even more devastating war in the Middle East. Hezbollah has said it will halt its attacks if there is a ceasefire between Hamas – a fellow Iran-backed ally – and Israel.
The Israeli anti-settlement monitoring Peace Now said the government's Higher Planning Council had approved or advanced plans for 5,295 homes in dozens of settlements across the occupied West Bank. On Wednesday, Peace Now said Israel approved the largest seizure of land in the West Bank in over three decades.
Cogat, the Israeli defence body that oversees the planning council, referred questions to Mr Netanyahu's office.
Mr Netanyahu's government is dominated by settlers and their supporters. The hardline nationalist finance minister, Bazalel Smotrich, himself a settler, has been placed in charge of settlement policy.
The turbocharged settlement drive threatens to further stoke tensions in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a surge in violence since the Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October that triggered Israeli retaliation in Gaza. The Hamas attack killed around 1,200 people, while another 250 people were taken hostage, more than 100 of whom were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
In its campaign in Gaza since the attack, Israel has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza. Israel's bombardment, ground offensives and restrictions on Gaza have caused vast destruction across the territory, displaced most of its population of 2.3 million – often multiple times – and caused widespread hunger, raising fears of famine.
Palestinians seek the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza – areas captured by Israel in the 1967 six-day war – for an independent state. It could also rankle Israel's ally, the United States, which speaks out against settlements, though it has done little to pressure Israel on the issue.
The US has rallied world support behind a plan for a phased ceasefire that calls for the release of the scores of hostages still held by Hamas in return for a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
But until now, neither side appears to have fully embraced it. Hamas suggested “amendments” to the proposal last month, some of which the US said were unworkable, without providing specifics. Hamas said on Wednesday it had sent another response to talks mediators Egypt and Qatar, without providing details.
An Israeli official said Mr Netanyahu had decided to send a team for new talks. The official, who wasn't authorised to discuss the meeting with the media, spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear when or where the team would go for negotiations.
The first phase of the proposal calls for a ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older people and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The proposal called for the parties to negotiate the terms of the second phase during the 42 days of phase one. Under the current proposal, the negotiations are meant to lead to a “sustainable calm” and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza – with the release of all remaining men, both civilians and soldiers, held captive by Hamas in return for an Israeli release of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase would see the return of the remains of dead hostages.
The transition from the first to the second phase has appeared to be the main sticking point.
In a lengthy television interview last month, Mr Netanyahu said that he was prepared to make a “partial deal” but was committed to continuing the war “after a pause” in order to annihilate Hamas. Later, speaking before Israel's parliament, he said Israel remains committed to the deal outlined by Mr Biden.
Associated Press
