JERUSALEM (JTA) — Construction in the West Bank dropped by one-third in the first half of the year, according to official data.
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported this week that construction in settlements dropped 33.8 percent from January to June, as compared to the same months in 2008. Some 672 housing units were built in the first half of this year, compared to 1,015 in 2008.
The housing units referred to in the report are legal, permanent housing. The report does not include modular homes and temporary construction in the outposts.
On Wednesday, the state prosecutor’s representative hinted twice that construction in the West Bank settlements might be retroactively legalized, Ha’aretz reported. The statements fly in the face of past statements that the buildings are illegal and require demolition.
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