According to Peace Now settlers began work on 1,126 new homes since moratorium on new construction ended.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFGivat Ze'ev construction 311(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
The number of completed homes in West Bank settlements dropped by 21 percent in the first three quarters of 2010, compared to that same period last year, according to new numbers released Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.Since the moratorium on new settlement construction ended on September 26, attention has been focused on the number of new housing starts in Judea and Samaria.RELATED:Israeli officials: Abbas making excuses not to negotiateMideast expert: US letter on freeze deal was completedAccording to Peace Now, as of November 13, settlers had begun work on 1,126 new homes in settlements since September 26.But during the moratorium, work was allowed to continue on 3,000 homes whose foundations had been laid before the start of the 10-month building cessation in November 2009.In the first nine months of 2010, work was completed on 1,175 homes, which is 21% less than the 1,498 homes that were finished in that same time period last year.Overall, in 2009, 2,070 homes were finished in West Bank settlements. In 2008, there were 1,601 homes completed, 1,747 in 2007 and 2,167 in 2006.When it comes to housing starts, the CBS reported that work was begun on 50 new homes in West Bank settlements in the first three quarters of 2010.In 2009, there were 1,920 housing starts in West Bank settlements. There were 2,105 such starts in 2008, 1,471 in 2007 and 1,518 in 2006.Settler leaders could not be reached for comment.
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