Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced that the construction of 1,000 new settler homes will be “immediately advanced” in the West Bank, where two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis two days ago.
The office said on Wednesday in a statement that new housing units will be built in the Jewish settlement of Eli, where the shooting attack occurred. The move was described as “a response” to the shooting attack, in which a pair of Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis and injured four others in a gas station outside Eli.
The controversial decision, which is expected to trigger condemnation by the Palestinians, was made by Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Our answer to terrorism is to strike it forcefully and build up our country,” the Ministers said in the statement.
Late on Tuesday, Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian properties, including cars and olive trees, in the West Bank towns of Beit Furiq and Huwara and threw stones at Palestinian drivers.
Tuesday’s shooting attack came a day after Israeli forces, supported by a rare use of an attack helicopter, killed six Palestinians and injured at least 90 others, in an hour-long gunbattle in Jenin in the northern West Bank.
It was the latest violence amid escalating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. According to official figures, at least 170 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis while 24 individuals have been killed on the Israeli side since January.
The West Bank was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Despite international criticism, Israel has maintained control over the territory, where the Palestinians wish to establish their future state.
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