Israel accused of ‘lying’ about allowing Palestinians to build homes in Area C

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday accused Israel of lying about allowing the construction of about 1,000 housing units for Palestinians in Area C in the occupied West Bank.

"The government of Israel is deceiving and lying in its claims to allow the Palestinians to build [house units] in Area C," the PLO's National Office for Combating Settlements and Land Defense said in its weekly report.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions -- Area A, B, and C.

Israel prevents Palestinians from carrying out construction projects in parts of the West Bank designated as Area C, which falls under Israel's administrative and security control.

Area C is currently home to 300,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are Bedouins and herding communities who predominantly live in tents, caravans, and caves.

The report said the Israeli announcement was meant "to cover up the construction of settlement units, and is part of a policy to deceive international public opinion."

Israel's Channel 12 reported Wednesday that Israel would approve the construction of 2,200 new settlement units in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority allowed to build 1,000 new housing units for Palestinians in Area C.

However, the PLO's report expected that the housing units meant for Palestinians "will not exceed the [number of] fingers of one hand."

For his part, Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee, said Israel has violated all previous agreements with the Palestinians, adding that they do not recognize the Israeli classification of Palestinian territories as they belong to the Palestinian state.