PA plans to bypass Israel by issuing construction permits, rebuilding demolished homes
Palestinian Minister of Local Government Majdi al-Saleh has recently announced he will be issuing permits that allow Palestinians to build houses in Area C of the West Bank, ignoring the need for Israeli approvals.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During an inspection tour in the West Bank village of Susya, Palestinian Minister of Local Government Majdi al-Saleh said Feb. 19 that his ministry is to start issuing construction permits for Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank and that the Ministry’s Higher Planning Council is to approve next month structural plans for these areas.
Saleh said that the Palestinian government will protect these Palestinian permits from the Israeli authorities and will proceed to rebuild houses that Israel demolishes.
About 400,000 Palestinians live in Area C, which accounts for about 61% of the West Bank and is subject to Israeli security and administrative control, as stipulated in the Oslo II Accord between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel in 1995.
Israel rejects the majority of Palestinian construction requests in this area. According to a report issued in February 2019 by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, Palestinians submitted 5,475 requests to the Israeli authorities to obtain construction permits between 2000 and mid-2016, but only 226, or about 4% of the requests, were approved.
