Israel announces creation of 22 settlements in West Bank
TEL AVIV: Israel announced on Thursday the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, risking further strain on relations with the international community already taxed by the war in Gaza. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The decision to establish more, taken by the country's security cabinet, was announced by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler, and Defence Minister Israel Katz, who is in charge of managing the communities. "We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing settlement in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel," Smotrich said on X, using the Israeli terms for the southern and northern West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967. "Next step: sovereignty!" he added. Katz said the initiative "changes the face of the region and shapes the future of settlement for years to come".
In a statement, Hamas condemned the move as "further confirmation that the criminal Zionist occupation continues to impose facts on the ground by accelerating steps to Judaize Palestinian land within a clear annexation project". "This is a blatant defiance of the international will and a grave violation of international law and United Nations resolutions," said the Palestinian militant group which rules Gaza.
Western ally Jordan too condemned the Israeli move, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law" that "undermines prospects for peace by entrenching the occupation". The Jordanian foreign ministry warned that "such unilateral actions further erode the viability of a two-state solution by impeding the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state".
In a statement on Telegram, the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move a "once-in-a-generation decision", saying the initiative had been led by Smotrich and Katz. "The decision also includes the establishment of four communities along the eastern border with Jordan, as part of strengthening Israel's eastern backbone, national security and strategic grip on the area," it said. The party published a map showing the 22 sites spread across the territory.
Human rights groups and anti-settlement NGOs say a slide towards at least de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank has gathered pace, particularly since the start of the Gaza war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel. "The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal," the Peace Now group said in a statement, adding the move "will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation".
Thursday's announcement comes ahead of an international conference to be led by France and Saudi Arabia at UN headquarters in New York next month, which is meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Supporters of the blueprint, which was the basis of successive rounds of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, say the prospects for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state alongside Israel are being undermined by the proliferation of settlements. The announcement also comes after US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday he had "very good feelings" about the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, adding that he expected to send out a new proposal imminently.
Meanwhile, after a more than two-month blockade, aid has finally begun to trickle back into Gaza, but the humanitarian situation remains dire after 18 months of devastating war. Food security experts say starvation is looming for one in five people. The Israeli military has also recently stepped up its offensive in the territory in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war. The centre, run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), is part of a new system for distributing aid that Israel says is meant to keep supplies out of the hands of Hamas, but which has drawn criticism from the United Nations and the European Union. — AFP
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