According to Peace Now’s count, since the end of the moratorium on settlement construction, work began on 1,712 new housing units on settlements in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem). The construction is taking place on 67 different settlements — every other settlement — mostly isolated settlements deep into the West Bank. It also appears that there is an unusually large amount of illegal construction, including in outposts and neighborhoods whose construction was not approved, of some 250 illegal housing units.
Peace Now has asked the Defense Minister to enforce the law and stop the settlers’ disregard of democratic decisions, and make the illegal construction stop.
According to newly released figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics, in all of 2009 work began on 1,920 housing units. Had construction continued at the same rate in 2010 without the moratorium, 1600 new units would have been built during the 10 months of the moratorium. Within three months since the end of the moratorium the settlers have managed to close the gap and start work on a similar number of housing units (1,712).
The CBS figures also show that from January to September construction of 50 housing units began and of another 1,175 ended. So that the number of units that were under construction at the end of September was 1651. When the additional 1,712 units counted by Peace Now are added to that number, the total number of housing units currently under construction is 3,363.
Examples of construction sites (only construction that began after the end of the moratorium):
Karmei Tzur – 42 units
Elazar – 58 units
Ma’ale Michmash – 11 units
Neriya – 30 units
Susiya – 15 units
Ateret – 18 units
Kedumim – 76 units
Pe’duel – 24 units
Revava – 60 units
Reihan – 24 units
Shaked – 25 units
Karnei Tzur – November 2010
Ariel – November 2010
Kochav Ya’akov- November 2010
Shvut Rachel – November 2010