Israel bars WB Palestinian development

The Zionist regime denied 94 percent of the building permit requests West Bank Palestinians submitted over the past seven years, the anti-settlement Peace Now group reported Thursday.

In all, 91 of 1,624 requested permits were approved, Peace Now said.

By contrast, 18,472 apartments and homes were built between 2000 and September 2007 in West Bank settlements, the group said, citing the regime's Central Bureau of Statistics.

Peace Now also said the Zionist regime's army demolished 33 percent of the 4,993 cases of Palestinian construction against which it issued demolition orders.

The data demonstrate "clear and conspicuous discrimination against the Palestinian population," Peace Now said.