Latest news with #JudeaAndSamaria
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Israel announces expansion of illegal settlements in occupied West Bank
The Israeli government says it will establish 22 illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of some so-called 'outposts' already built without government authorisation, in a move decried by Palestinian officials and rights groups. Defence Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the decision on Thursday, with Katz saying that it 'strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,' using an Israeli term for the occupied West Bank. He added it was also 'a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel'. Smotrich, himself a settler on illegally occupied Palestinian-owned land and an advocate for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, hailed the 'historic decision'. In a statement, the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the move as a 'once-in-a-generation decision', emphasising its strategic value in fortifying Israel's hold along the eastern border with Jordan. Israel has already built more than 100 illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small outposts to larger communities with modern infrastructure. The West Bank is home to more than three million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority governing in limited areas. The Palestinians see the territory as an integral part of a future state, along with occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. Palestinian officials and rights groups slammed the Israeli government's decision, warning that the expansion of illegal settlements would further harm the prospects for a future Palestinian state. Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the decision, calling it a 'dangerous escalation' and a 'challenge to international legitimacy'. He accused Israel of fuelling instability in the region and warned the move breaches international law. 'This decision violates all international resolutions, especially UN Security Council Resolution 2334,' he said, adding that all settlement activity remains illegal and illegitimate. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned called on the United States and the European Union to take action. 'The announcement of the building of 22 new settlements in the West Bank is part of the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people,' Abu Zuhri told the news agency Reuters. The Israeli NGO Peace Now said the move 'will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation'. 'The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal,' it said in a statement. 'This is the largest batch of illegal Israeli settlements to be approved in one decision,' reported Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim from the occupied West Bank. 'Israeli settlements are strangling Palestinian communities inside the West Bank,' said Ibrahim. 'These new settlements fill the gaps, making a future Palestinian state almost impossible on the ground. Israel is using this moment – while global attention is fixed on Gaza – to cement its occupation.' The settlement announcement comes just weeks ahead of a high-level international conference, jointly led by France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations, aiming to revive the long-dormant process to agree a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Israel announces major expansion of illegal West Bank settlements
The Israeli government says it will establish 22 illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of some so-called 'outposts' already built without government authorisation, in a move decried by Palestinian officials and rights groups. Defence Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the decision on Thursday, with Katz saying that it 'strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,' using an Israeli term for the occupied West Bank. He added it was also 'a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel'. Smotrich, himself a settler on illegally occupied Palestinian-owned land and an advocate for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, hailed the 'historic decision'. In a statement, the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the move as a 'once-in-a-generation decision', emphasising its strategic value in fortifying Israel's hold along the eastern border with Jordan. Israel has already built more than 100 illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small outposts to larger communities with modern infrastructure. The West Bank is home to more than three million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority governing in limited areas. The Palestinians see the territory as an integral part of a future state, along with occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. Palestinian officials and rights groups slammed the Israeli government's decision, warning that the expansion of illegal settlements would further harm the prospects for a future Palestinian state. Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the decision, calling it a 'dangerous escalation' and a 'challenge to international legitimacy'. He accused Israel of fuelling instability in the region and warned the move breaches international law. 'This decision violates all international resolutions, especially UN Security Council Resolution 2334,' he said, adding that all settlement activity remains illegal and illegitimate. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned called on the United States and the European Union to take action. 'The announcement of the building of 22 new settlements in the West Bank is part of the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people,' Abu Zuhri told the news agency Reuters. The Israeli NGO Peace Now said the move 'will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation'. 'The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal,' it said in a statement. 'This is the largest batch of illegal Israeli settlements to be approved in one decision,' reported Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim from the occupied West Bank. 'Israeli settlements are strangling Palestinian communities inside the West Bank,' said Ibrahim. 'These new settlements fill the gaps, making a future Palestinian state almost impossible on the ground. Israel is using this moment – while global attention is fixed on Gaza – to cement its occupation.' The settlement announcement comes just weeks ahead of a high-level international conference, jointly led by France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations, aiming to revive the long-dormant process to agree a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Israel confirms plans to create 22 new settlements in occupied West Bank
Israel has said it will establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation, after a security cabinet vote held in secret last week. Israel occupied the West Bank, capturing it from Jordan, in the six-day war of 1967. Since then, successive governments have tried to permanently cement Israeli control over the land, in part by declaring swathes as 'state lands', which prevents private Palestinian ownership. The motion was said to have been put forward by the far-right defence minister, Israel Katz, and finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, which is considered illegal under international law. Katz said the settlement decision 'strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria', using the biblical term for the West Bank, 'anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism'. He added it was also 'a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel'. The government intends to use the 22 settlements to bolster Israel's presence around Route 443, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv via Modiin and was described by Israel Ganz, the head of the Yesha council umbrella group of West Bank Jewish municipalities, as 'the most important decision since 1967'. The minister said on X: 'We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing the settlement of the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel.' In July, Israel had approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in more than three decades, according to a report released by Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog. At the time, the Israeli government approved the appropriation of 12.7 sq km (nearly 5 sq miles) of land in the Jordan valley, indicating it was 'the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords', referring to the start of the peace process. In a leaked recording captured by Peace Now last year, Smotrich, during a conference for his National Religious Party-Religious Zionism, disclosed that the land confiscations in 2024 surpassed previous years' averages by approximately tenfold. He said: 'This thing is mega-strategic and we are investing a lot in it. 'This is something that will change the map dramatically.' In May 2023, Smotrich, who said his 'life's mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state', had instructed Israeli government ministries to prepare for a further 500,000 Israeli settlers to move into the occupied West Bank. On 20 June, the Guardian revealed how the Israeli military had quietly handed over significant legal powers in the West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for Smotrich. An order posted by the Israel Defense Forces on its website on May 2024 transfers responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration – the Israeli body governing in the West Bank – from the military to officials led by Smotrich at the defence ministry. In March, in statement issued by Peace Now said that between 1 January and 19 March this year, 10,503 housing units were promoted, surpassing the 9,971 units approved throughout the whole of 2024. The approval of new settlements by Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government represents a further implementation of its longstanding goal to annex the occupied Palestinian territory – an objective bolstered by the Trump administration. Mike Huckabee, nominated as Trump's new ambassador to Israel, signalled his support for Israeli claims on the West Bank in an interview last year. He said: 'When people use the term 'occupied', I say: 'Yes, Israel is occupying the land, but it's the occupation of a land that God gave them 3,500 years ago. It is their land.'' Rightwing settlers have described top officials Trump's new administration, which rescinded sanctions imposed on violent Israeli settler groups, as a 'dream team' that will offer a 'special opportunity' to permanently end any prospect of a Palestinian state. Associated Press contributed to this report
