Israeli settlers open seminary on illegal Homesh site

RELIGIOUS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) –   Jewish settlers inaugurated a seminary in the illegal settlement of Homesh that has been a focus of US – scrutiny, drawing Palestinian condemnation on Monday.

US-led peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza broke down in 2014 and show little sign of revival, and Israeli violence in occupied Palestine has escalated over the past year.

“The New Arab” reported Israeli settlements are illegal under international law – and the settlement of Homesh is also illegal under Israeli law. Palestinians say they eat away at the land they want for a future state and cite growing violence by settlers.

Abbas said Homesh must be removed. “Statements of condemnation are no longer enough in the face of the (Israeli) extremist right-wing government,” said his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

In a bid to quell international concern, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel has no intention of building any new settlements as his nationalist-religious government has vowed to bolster existing ones.

Spokespeople for Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on whether any of them had authorised the establishment of the new Homesh seminary.

Last week, Smotrich, who heads the pro-settler Jewish Zionism party and holds some West Bank powers, said Homesh had been officially added to settlement council land in order to work out a new building plan for the seminary school.