New figures show Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank has reached record levels. According to the Israeli group Peace Now, settlement building rose 20 percent last year, with construction starts on thousands of new homes. Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now announced the group’s findings.

Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now: “Netanyahu and his government broke their own record and built more this year than the two years before. We can see that in many places in the West Bank there are construction of new settlements and new houses. And this year will be remembered as the 'year of the settlers' regarding construction in the West Bank.”

With U.S. backing, Israel has rejected Palestinian calls for a settlement freeze as a precondition for peace talks. In response to the Peace Now report, Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev said Israel has in fact shown “great restraint” in the West Bank.

Mark Regev, Israeli spokesperson: “We have shown great restraint. This government initiated an unprecedented 10-month settlement moratorium. And even today, with the conclusion of that moratorium, we continue to exercise great restraint.”