Israel's Finance Minister Announces Major Expansion of Illegal West Bank Settlements

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a major expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, as he pushes to annex more of the Palestinian territory.

Smotrich said on Wednesday that a planning committee had approved the construction of 2,162 new Jewish homes, of which 1,006 units will be in a new illegal settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near the city of Nablus and 234 near Hebron.

“We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice,” Smotrich said in a statement.

The new homes would “strengthen our hold on the land, reinforce Israel’s security, and establish clear facts on the ground that prevent the creation of an Arab terror state in the heart of the country”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s office condemned the decision and warned that Israel’s “provocative” policies were pushing the region towards more violence. It called on the United States to stop the Israeli “madness”.

The push for settlements in the occupied West Bank is illegal under international law and condemned by most nations.

Smotrich has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom, France, and other states, which accuse him of inciting violence against Palestinians.

The minister has denounced the sanctions and said they would not change Israeli policy.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Thursday that Israeli forces had delivered demolition notices to a number of shops at the intersection of the town of Bazariya, northwest of Nablus, to make way for a colonial road.

Meanwhile, some settlers stormed the village of Deir Sudan, northwest of Ramallah, accompanied by bulldozers, to seize it.

The developments come months after the Israeli government approved a land registration process in February that allowed Israel to take territory as “state property” if Palestinians could not prove ownership.