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Israel Approves Construction of New Residential Quarter in West Bank - Lieberman

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli government has approved the construction of the first in years residential quarter for Jewish settlers in the city of Hebron, West Bank, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.
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"The new Jewish quarter in Hebron will be constructed for the first time in 20 years. We will build a new neighborhood instead of a military base. We will build 31 apartments, two kindergartens and a nursery instead of barracks for soldiers," Lieberman said in a statement.

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According to media reports, the construction of new housing units will require over $6 million of government funding.

"I thank the prime minister and the cabinet ministers who approved the Hezekiah Quarter project, which I have initiated. This is another important milestone in our extensive work aimed at supporting settlement activity in Judea and Samaria [in West Bank]," Lieberman added.

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Hebron is a city located in the West Bank about 18 miles south of Jerusalem and controlled by both Israeli and Palestinian security services. Several hundred Israeli settlers live there surrounded by about 200,000 Palestinians.

The Israeli policy of building settlements in the West Bank, which is divided by zones of Israel's and Palestinian authority's control, is one of the main cornerstones for the continuation of peace talks between the conflicting sides.

Resolution 2334, adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council in 2016, states that the Israeli activity of building settlements on Palestinian territories, occupied since 1967, constitutes a violation of international law.

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