A senior settler official says that work has begun on up to 600 new homes in West Bank settlements since Israel lifted its curb on such construction Sept. 26, mirroring recent findings by The Associated Press and the Israeli watchdog Peace Now.
Foundations are already being dug for at least 350 apartments, while construction of another 200 to 250 homes is in more preliminary stages, the official said Sunday. A second settler official said he believes some of the construction is already more advanced, and that out of the total being built, 400 to 500 apartments have reached the stage of foundation work.
Both officials are familiar with the construction and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Assessing the extent of post-freeze construction is difficult because Israel's government has declined to release information, and settlement officials generally won't provide detailed data.
Peace Now, which is conducting an extensive survey of building activity, has reported that work has begun on at least 600 new homes since restrictions — which Israel self-imposed in November 2009 for a predefined 10-month period — were lifted.
Peace Now researcher Hagit Ofran said she estimates that the pace is at least two and up to four times faster than before.
Part of the difficulty in nailing down the comparison to official data is that the government provides only delayed and periodic updates and does not start counting until construction progresses from leveling land to digging foundations.
Ofran said she believes construction tends to proceed very quickly these days from preliminary stages to foundation work because settlers and contractors are concerned about the possibility of a renewed freeze.
When building restrictions were imposed last November, contractors were allowed to continue building settlement houses whose foundations had already been poured. In this way — with the addition of allowing "exceptions" to the freeze on new starts — construction actually proceeded at a fairly brisk rate throughout the moratorium.
Ofran said that during the moratorium, settlers had prepared well for the resumption of construction. "It is not a surprise, because we knew this was coming," she said of the building spurt. "Unless the government imposes a freeze, the settlers will continue to build."
PHOTO CAPTION
Jewish settlement Pisgat Zeev pictured behind Israel's separation barrier on the outskirts of Jerusalem, August 2010.
Agencies