CIA Director Flies To Israel, Palestinians Allowed To Build 1,000 Houses In West Bank

Illustration of the West Bank region, Palestine. (Wikimedia Commons/Almonroth)

JAKARTA - Rarely, the Israeli authorities allow the mass construction of Palestinian property in the West Bank. This decision came while Israel Director William Burns was in the country.

Called a dramatic move, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the construction of about a thousand Palestinian settlement units in Area C. The Civil Administration is also expected to advance plans for more than 2,000 settler homes in Area C by early next week.

Citing The Jerusalem Post, Wednesday 11 August, different development initiatives were announced simultaneously on Wednesday. The Civil Administration rarely gives Palestinian approval to build in Area C of the West Bank, which is under the IDF's military and civilian control.

Related or not, the move came after CIA Director William Burns, who is in Israel, held separate meetings with Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Gantz.

During their meeting with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the two discussed various initiatives for intelligence cooperation. As well as the need to strengthen the Palestinian Authority and additional moderate actors in the region, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.

Israel itself is known to be under pressure from the United States to make a gesture to Palestine. Hebrew news site Ynet first cracked the story, which sources later confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.

Meanwhile, Israel's political right, which includes Yamina Bennett's party, has opposed Palestinian construction in Area C, the West Bank which it considers should be included within Israel's sovereign borders.

To note, the Palestinian Authority and most of the international community believe, Area C should be included within the borders of a future Palestinian state.