A/HRC/34/39 sites restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement and prevents equal enjoyment of cultural life and heritage.34 22. The management of archaeological and tourism sites by private settler groups came under scrutiny following the intervention by senior officials of the Ministry of Justice on behalf of the settler group Elad. Elad successfully reinstated the original plans for Kedem Compound, a large tourist facility proposed in Silwan, East Jerusalem, after Jerusalem planning bodies had significantly reduced the scope of the plans. 35 A report of the Israeli State Comptroller highlighted the lack of poor oversight by government authorities in relation to Elad’s management of tourism and ancient sites and the lack of transparency in relation to links between the organization’s management and government entities. Designation of occupied land for economic activities 23. In the report on Israeli settlements submitted to the General Assembly at its seventyfirst session (see A/71/355, para. 4), it was noted that the encouragement of economic activities, including industrial and agricultural activities, within and around settlements represented an additional way for Israel to support settlement expansion besides the allocation of land for settlement homes and infrastructure. 36 24. Through financial incentives, the Government of Israel has continued to actively encourage commercial development by Israeli and international businesses in and around the settlements. Almost all settlement industrial zones are designated as national priority areas, which carries benefits such as reductions in the price of land, grants for the development of infrastructure and tax breaks for individuals and business enterprises.37 In its recent report on settlement businesses, Human Rights Watch noted that the physical footprint of Israeli business activity in the West Bank was larger than that of residential settlements. According to Human Rights Watch, industrial zones (1,365 hectares) and agricultural land (9,300 hectares) exploited by Israel in the West Bank occupy a surface area 1.7 times greater than the built-up area of residential settlements (6,000 hectares). 38 B. Settlement construction and expansion 25. The Israeli policy of construction and expansion of settlements and related infrastructure, and support to privately led settlement expansion initiatives throughout the West Bank continued, and an overall acceleration in settlement expansion was observed during the reporting period. Following a period of significant slowdown in planning and tendering since mid-2014, an overall acceleration in settlement expansion was reported during 2016, as measured against the main indicators of government-led settlement activity: the number of new constructions rose compared with previous years, with the highest number of new constructions in three years recorded during the second quarter of 2016. Moreover, there was an uptick in plans advanced in both East Jerusalem and Area C. 39 Similarly, settler-led initiatives continued to enjoy State support, as evidenced by the 34 35 36 37 38 39 6 See A/70/351. See www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.745359. In its resolution 31/36, the Human Rights Council requested the Secretary-General to report on the human rights and international law violations involved in the production of settlement goods and the relationship between trade in these goods and the maintenance and economic growth of settlements. See https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/01/19/occupation-inc/how-settlement-businesses-contributeisraels-violations-palestinian. Ibid. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, construction started on 1,723 housing units during the first three quarters of 2016, an increase of 25 per cent compared with the same period in 2015. In Area C, 24 settlement plans involving the construction of 2,264 housing units were put forward without reaching the final approval stage. Fourteen additional plans reached a final approval stage (710 units). The figures represent an increase over 2015 but a decrease compared with 2014. Similarly, in East Jerusalem, plans for 1,572 units were put forward during 2016 compared with 1,285 units in 2015, which represented a significant decrease compared with the 3,300 units proposed in 2014.