Latest news with #JudeaSamaria
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Israel approves biggest expansion of settlements in West Bank in decades
In the biggest expansion of occupied West Bank settlements in decades, Israel has approved the establishment of 22 new Jewish communities in the occupied territory. The move has been criticised by Israeli human rights groups. Two of the settlements – Homesh and Sa Nur – were evacuated as part of the 2005 disengagement plan from Gaza, which also included four settlements in the northern West Bank. Four new settlements are also earmarked along Israel's eastern border with Jordan, as part of the effort to reinforce Israel's presence along the Jordan river. Defence minister Israel Katz described Jewish settlements as a vital defensive shield for the big population centres in central Israel. 'This historic decision to establish 22 new settlements in Judea and Samaria strengthens our hold on the land, anchors our historical right to the Land of Israel and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism that seeks to harm and weaken the settlement movement,' he said, using the Biblical name for the West Bank. READ MORE 'It is also a strategic step that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel and serves as a buffer against our enemies.' Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, said: 'Through hard work and determined leadership, we have, thank God, succeeded in creating a strategic shift, returning Israel to a path of building, Zionism and vision. Settlement in the land of our forefathers is the protective wall of Israel, and today we took a giant step in strengthening it. The next step: sovereignty. We did not take a foreign land, but rather our ancestral homeland.' Israel has built about 160 settlements across the West Bank since it captured the land from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War. The settlements are considered illegal by most of the international community. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a 'dangerous escalation', accusing Israel of continuing to drag the region into a cycle of violence and instability. 'This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,' he said, urging Washington to intervene. [ Israeli finance minister calls for Palestinian villages to be 'flattened' after pregnant woman shot dead in West Bank Opens in new window ] Lior Amichai, director of the Israeli anti-settlement Peace Now NGO, also criticised the move. 'The government of Israel is making clear it plans to annex the West Bank and is doing so in a dramatic fashion. Establishing 22 new settlements is a clear message to the world: We want to prolong this war and this conflict to last forever.' Meanwhile, Israeli leaders are threatening that if states such as France and Canada pursue plans to recognise a Palestinian state, Israel will respond with 'unilateral measures' – thought to be a reference to annexing parts of the West Bank.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Israel announces major expansion of West Bank settlements despite sanctions threat
Israel's government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank despite some Western countries threatening targeted sanctions. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist who advocates for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, said on Thursday the new settlements would be located in the northern area of the West Bank but did not specify where. Israel's Defense Ministry said that among the new Jewish settlements, existing "outposts" would be legalised and new settlements would also be built. "[It] strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria [West Bank], anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism," Defense Minister Israel Katz said. He added it was also 'a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel". Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most of the international community. Palestinians see expansion of the settlements as a hindrance to their aspirations to establish an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel has already built over 100 settlements in the territory, which range from small hilltop "outposts" to fully developed communities with apartment blocks, shopping malls, and factories. Most of the international community considers these settlements illegal, including Australia. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2024 that Israel was in breach of international law, ordering it to end settlement activity and pay reparations to Palestinians. Israel's government dismissed that finding as "blatantly one-sided" and not legally binding. It deems most settlements legal under its own laws, while some of the illegal "outposts" are often tolerated and sometimes later legalised. There is a growing list of European countries demanding an end to the war in Gaza, while Britain, France and Canada warned Israel this month it could impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to expand settlements in the West Bank. A joint statement by the three countries also said that they "strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza". Settlement activity in the West Bank has accelerated sharply since the war in Gaza, now in its 20th month. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called Israel's decision a "dangerous escalation," accusing the government of continuing to drag the region into a "cycle of violence and instability". "This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," he told Reuters, urging US President Donald Trump's administration to intervene. The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called it "the most extensive move of its kind" in more than 30 years and warned it would "dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further". Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned the announcement and called on the US 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 Reuters. Following the ICJ ruling last year, Australia sanctioned seven Israeli settlers in the West Bank due to violent attacks on Palestinians, including sexual assault and torture. Reuters/AP
LBCI
6 days ago
- General
- LBCI
Far-right Israeli minister announces creation of 22 settlements in West Bank
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday the creation in the occupied West Bank of 22 new settlements, which are considered illegal under international law. "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," the minister said on X, using the Israeli term for the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967. AFP
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Israel authorises more Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank
Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation. Advertisement Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict. Defence Minister Israel 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'. Israeli troops stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photo: Reuters Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small hilltop outposts to fully developed communities with residential blocks, shopping malls, factories and public parks. Advertisement The West Bank is home to 3 million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centres. The settlers have Israeli citizenship.
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Israel authorizes more Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank
Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization. Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict. Defense Minister Israel 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.' Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small hilltop outposts to fully developed communities with apartment blocks, shopping malls, factories and public parks. The West Bank is home to 3 million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship. Israel has accelerated settlement construction in recent years — long before Hamas ' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in Gaza — confining Palestinians to smaller and smaller areas of the West Bank and making the prospect of establishing a viable, independent state even more remote. During his first term, President Donald Trump's administration broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy by supporting Israel's claims to territory seized by force and taking steps to legitimize the settlements. Former President Joe Biden, like most of his predecessors, opposed the settlements but applied little pressure to Israel to curb their growth. The top United Nations court ruled last year that Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called on it to end, and for settlement construction to stop immediately. Israel denounced the non-binding opinion by a 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice, saying the territories are part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people. Calls for settlements in war-ravaged Gaza Israel withdrew its settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but leading figures in the current government have called for them to be re-established and for much of the Palestinian population of the territory to be resettled elsewhere through what they describe as voluntary emigration. Palestinians view such plans as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion from their homeland, and experts say the plans would likely violate international law. Israel now controls more than 70% of Gaza, according to Yaakov Garb, a professor of environmental studies at Ben Gurion University, who has examined Israeli-Palestinian land use patterns for decades. The area includes buffer zones along the border with Israel as well as the southern city of Rafah, which is now mostly uninhabited, and other large areas that Israel has ordered to be evacuated. The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas still holds 58 hostages, around a third of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.
