"Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that the Israeli Cabinet had approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. As part of his official role in the Ministry of Defense, Smotrich overseas the Administration for Settlement Affairs, a government entity established in 2023 to manage civilian matters in the West Bank's settlements, including approving construction requests."
"The list of approvals includes two West Bank villages evacuated by Israel as part of the 2005 Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Left-wing Israeli watchdog Peace Now said the newly approved settlements also include areas where Israel had not previously had a presence, while others are to be built in densely populated Palestinian areas, as well as sites where Palestinian communities have been expelled."
""We will continue to develop, build, and settle the land of our ancestral heritage, with faith in the justice of our path," Smotrich posted on his X account. According to Smotrich, the Israeli government is "stopping the establishment" of a Palestinian state, which he labels a "terror state," through creating facts on the ground."
The Israeli cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, overseen by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in his Ministry of Defense role. Smotrich oversees the Administration for Settlement Affairs, created in 2023 to manage civilian settlement matters and approve construction requests. The approvals include two West Bank villages evacuated during the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, areas without prior Israeli presence, densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods, and sites where Palestinian communities have been expelled. Smotrich said the government aims to prevent a Palestinian state by creating facts on the ground. The moves draw international condemnation and reflect a far-right government agenda.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]