Peace Now Battles Netanyahu Over New West Bank Buildings

The Jerusalem Post reports: Peace Now went head-to-head with the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday in a public dispute about statistics for the advancement of plans for new homes in West Bank settlements.

In a rare move, the PMO published a disclaimer with regard to media and NGO reports on the subject.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have not approved new construction as has been published,” the PMO said.

“Almost all of the permits are for upgrading existing structures. The small proportion of them pertaining to new construction are for the community of Ganei Modi’in [part of the Mod’in Illit settlement], which abuts the fence and which will be part of Israel in any future agreement,” the PMO said.

But the non-governmental group Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, immediately disputed that statement and said that it has the aerial photos to prove it.