UN vote likely to demand Israel stop settlements

With settlers using music to disrupt a Palestinian school and a settler olive grove bulldozed, daily tensions in the West Bank are increasing, but the government is encouraging more Israelis to move there.

The United Nations Security Council is considering a draft resolution, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, that would demand Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory."

The 15-member council is likely to vote on Monday on the text, drafted by the United Arab Emirates in coordination with the Palestinians, diplomats said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Sunday authorised nine Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and announced mass construction of new homes in established settlements, prompting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to say he was "deeply troubled."

In December 2016, the Security Council demanded Israel stop building the settlements. It adopted a resolution after US president Barack Obama's administration abstained, a reversal of its practice to protect Israel from UN action.

The government continues to encourage Israelis to move over the Green Line to settlements, including through a housing lottery plan which turns "lucky" Israelis who cannot afford to buy a home into new settlers.

Meanwhile, daily tensions in the territories increase. Jewish settlers near the illegal settlement of Sha'arei Tikva have been playing Hebrew songs at full volume as soon as classes start at Azzun Beit Amin School.

The school is often the target of Israeli settler harassment and has faced numerous incidents of armed settlers entering the premises and threatening students. Moreover, the Jewish settlers frequently dump their sewage on the school playground, which the head teacher says creates a health hazard for students and the community at large.