The Subcommittee of the Central Planning Bureau of Judea and Samaria (MTO) in the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria convened Thursday to discuss a series of construction plans.
At the suggestion of Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, the committee approved plans for the construction of 741 housing units. An additional 1,036 housing units were authorized.
The subcommittee is scheduled to convene today (Thursday) to approve the move. The housing units are slated to be constructed in the communities of Eli (620 housing units), Har Bracha (48 units) and Givat Ze'ev (73 housing units).
Construction plans have been authorized in the communities of: Shilo and Shvut Rachel (534 housing units), Alon Shvut (110), Ma'ale Shomron (106), Nokdim (105), Tzofim (92 housing units), Tzofim (64 units) Housing), Karnei Shomron (24), and Shaar Shomron (industrial area).
In Eli, where 620 units were approved, the move was made possible after the Supreme Court canceled the interim order delaying the settlement's further development.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said: "We are not waiting, we are working. We will not hand over an inch of the Land of Israel to the Arabs, but for that to happen, we need to continue building [in Judea and Samaria]. We have approved many housing units in the settlements, and will continue doing so. For years, we heard explanations as to why everything was complicated and how our bureaucracy was responsible for slowing things down. We're putting an end to that. We've left the discourse of evacuations and [building] freezes behind and turned the page to expansion and construction. Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria is one of the building blocks of Zionism in the State of Israel and we will continue moving forward with it."