Jerusalem: The Israeli government has advanced three major illegal settlement projects in East Jerusalem within a few weeks, involving more than 3,400 units, in an effort to strengthen Israeli control over the occupied city, an Israeli rights group said Monday.

According to Anadolu Agency, Ir Amim, an Israeli organization focused on East Jerusalem, stated that Israeli authorities had advanced these projects less than three months before legislative elections scheduled for Oct. 27. The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee recently deposited a plan for a new illegal settlement of about 650 housing units in the Palestinian neighborhood of Umm Tuba.

Additionally, the committee approved plans for a new illegal settlement of about 450 housing units in the heart of Umm Lison and an expansion of the Gilo illegal settlement by more than 2,300 housing units. These areas, located in southern East Jerusalem, are part of a broader strategy that Ir Amim believes will deepen the fragmentation of Palestinian neighborhoods, strengthen Israeli control, and undermine any future political settlement.

Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim, emphasized that these developments are part of an integrated policy implemented with a calculated timetable. He described the moves as an attempt to create new facts on the ground, reshape the city's landscape, and complicate any future political settlement efforts.

Despite being possibly in its final days, the current Israeli government is accused of racing against time to establish a lasting reality that will be challenging to alter. Israeli officials have praised the government for its support of settlement expansion, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announcing an acceleration of such activities in the occupied West Bank.

The United Nations and most countries view Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal under international law, arguing that they hinder prospects for a two-state solution. The Peace Now movement estimates approximately 500,000 occupiers in the West Bank and about 250,000 in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem.

Palestinians contend that these projects are part of a broader Israeli policy aimed at expanding illegal settlements, seizing land, and establishing new realities on the ground.