Israeli government approves plans to expand settlements in West Bank

The Israeli government has approved plans to build more than 4,500 housing units in settlements in the West Bank. To accelerate the pace of construction, the cabinet has given far-right finance minister Bezal Smotrich broad powers, according to The Times of Israel. This decision drew criticism from Washington, Tel Aviv’s closest ally.

The United States also expressed concern about changes in the Israeli settlement management system, accelerating their construction. “The United States opposes such unilateral actions that make it difficult to achieve a two-state solution and are an obstacle to peace,” the State Department said in a statement. In addition, Washington recalled that the decision to build new settlements in the occupied territories violates the agreement reached in the Jordanian city of Aqaba and the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh to avoid unilateral steps and escalation of violence by Israel and the Palestinian National Authority. Negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli delegations with the participation of representatives of the United States, Jordan and Egypt were held in Aqaba on February 26, and in Sharm el-Sheikh on March 19.

Plans to build 4,560 housing units are on the agenda of Israel’s Higher Planning Council, which will meet next week. Of these, more than 1,300 units are being approved by the government, while the rest are being pre-screened. “We will continue the settlement policy and strengthen Israeli control over the territory,” Smotrich said. In total, since Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in December, the right-wing government has approved 7,000 housing units. In addition, the Israeli Cabinet of Ministers has transferred control over the approval of plans for the construction of new settlements on Palestinian lands to Finance Minister Smotrich, which will significantly speed up the process of their expansion. Previously, for the approval of new projects, it was required to go through at least five stages of approval, now there will be one. Jewish settlement leaders in the West Bank have praised Smotrich and Netanyahu for this initiative, which will make approving settlement projects in Palestinian lands look like planning in Israel itself.

The Palestinian group Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, said the construction of new settlements would escalate violence in the region. “Israeli projects will not give legitimacy to the occupation of our lands, our people will resist it with all available means,” the organization’s official website says. The ruling Palestinian Authority in the West Bank said that all “Jewish settlers will be withdrawn from the West Bank, as they were previously evicted from the Gaza Strip.”

Most of the international community considers illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank of the Jordan River, most of which were built after the occupation of the territory by Israel during the Arab-Israeli war in 1967. At various times, the UN Security Council adopted several resolutions condemning the settlement activity of Tel Aviv in the region .

The expansion of Jewish settlements in the territories of Judea and Samaria, commonly referred to as the West Bank, has traditionally been part of the political agenda of Israel’s right-wing parties, recalls Israeli political analyst Andrey Glotser. “This is how they demonstrate to their voters that the Israeli authorities have sufficient political will and sovereignty for such activities. This decision is also influenced by the position of the EU and the US, which traditionally express concern about the expansion of the Jewish presence in the territories that the Palestinian movement also claims,” the expert says. According to Glotzer, settlement building has always been a stumbling block between right-wing Israeli governments and left-wing circles in Europe and America. “However, the Israelis will still build in the settlements, because this is not only a political, but also a “domestic” issue: the Jewish population lives there, the number of which is approaching 500,000 people. It is growing and needs building. We are talking about simple demographics,” the expert added.

On June 19, in the Palestinian city of Jenin, after the announcement of plans to build settlements, Palestinians clashed with the Israeli army, four Arabs were killed, 62 were injured. Seven people were injured on the Israeli side. “The wave of terror in the country is on the rise, and the number of terrorist attacks increased long before this decision was made. Although it is not clear whether mass construction will begin, the decision will serve as a pretext for even greater escalation,” the expert concluded.