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New Peace Talks, New Settlement Provocations -- A Timeline

Since the start of the new Israeli-Palestinian peace effort backed by Secretary Kerry, it feels like every day has seen news about new settlement approvals, tenders, planning, benefits, etc. In truth, it hasn't been quite every day - but close to it. The settlement floodgates have been opened, and opened wide, especially in East Jerusalem. This timeline is intended not to provide comprehensive details of each new settlement-related development, but to track these developments across time and provide links to additional resources. Also, keep in mind that new developments can be viewed on the map through APN's "Facts on the Ground" Map App.

August 14: Second round of peace talks set to start in the region

August 12: On Monday, August 12, the Government of Israel approved construction of 900 new settlement units, these in the East Jerusalem settlement of Mordot Gilo (more here).

August 11: On Sunday, August 11, the Government of Israel announced tenders for nearly 1187 new settlement units - 793 in East Jerusalem settlements (Mordot Gilo, Har Homa, and Pisgat Zeev), and 394 in the West Bank (including Maale Adumim, Ariel, and Efrat, and Beitar Illit (more here, here, and here).

August 8: On Thursday, August 8, the Government of Israel reportedly approved the promotion (close to final approval) of at least 878 new settlement units, many located in isolated settlements. This reportedly includes the approval to promote plans for hundreds of new units in illegal outpost that are in the process of being "laundered" by the Netanyahu government (more here and here).

August 6: On Tuesday, August 6, news broke of the approval of a "new" settlement in East Jerusalem, near the Palestinian neighborhood of Jebel Mukabber (more here). This same project was announced to great fanfare and a public groundbreaking in 2009 (more here), leading to the conclusion that the approval was deliberately recycled to create a recycled news story, and to be a recycled provocation.

August 4: On Sunday, August 4, the Israeli Government approved a new list of Israeli localities eligible for special benefits as national "priority development areas." The 2013 list designated 90 settlements national priority development areas. Some of these are located deep inside the West Bank (more here, here, here and here).

July 29-30 - First Israel-Palestinian talks in almost 3 years (in Washington, DC): On Wednesday July 29th and Thursday, July 30th, Israel and Palestinian negotiators met in Washington, DC in the first face-to-face talks in almost 3 years. At the end of the meetings, the parties agreed to reconvene for the next round of talks, this time in the region, within two weeks.