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Israeli officials announced Thursday the establishment of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, marking a significant expansion of settlement activity in territory considered illegally occupied under international law.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz jointly announced the decision, which includes plans to renew settlement activity in northern Samaria and develop new communities along the Jordan Valley border.
The announcement includes an illegal return to Homesh and Sa-Nur, areas previously evacuated under Israel's 2005 disengagement plan. The decision follows the repeal of the Disengagement Law in specific areas of northern West Bank, enabling renewed illegal settlement activity in these locations.
"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," Smotrich stated on X, using the Israeli term for the West Bank.
Four of the new settlements will be positioned along the border area with Jordan, designed to strengthen what Israeli officials describe as the eastern corridor.
The plan also includes two settlements to reinforce the Route 443 area leading to Jerusalem and three strategic settlements in the Hebron Hills region.
Additionally, one settlement will be established at Mount Ebal, described by Israeli officials as a historically and strategically significant location.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz characterized the decision as essential for Israel's security framework, stating: "Jewish settlement in the West Bank constitutes a vital protective wall for the security of Israel's major population centers, and everything must be done to expand and strengthen this protective wall."
"The decision we made today is not only strengthening settlement in the eastern corridor of the state, but also a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel, and serves as a buffer against our enemies. This is a Zionist, security and national response—and a clear decision about the future of the land," Katz added.
Finance Minister Smotrich described the announcement as transformative for Israeli policy, stating: "This is a great day for settlement and an important day for the State of Israel. Through intensive work and persistent leadership, we have successfully created a deep strategic change, returning the State of Israel to a path of construction, Zionism and vision."
"Settlement in the inheritance of our forefathers is the protective wall of the State of Israel— today we took a giant step to strengthen it. The next step—sovereignty! We did not take a foreign land but the inheritance of our forefathers," Smotrich continued.
Religious Zionist Party Member of Knesset Orit Strock commented on the decision via social media, stating: "We made a promise, and we kept it. New settlements are being established in Judea and Samaria, closing a gap of decades in the settlement of the land and providing a Zionist response to vast spaces that have been neglected and abandoned."
"Through our actions, we express our right to the land and our duty towards it. We continue to correct the sin of disengagement," Strock added.
The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967, and settlements in occupied territory are considered illegal under international law. The announcement represents a significant expansion of settlement activity in the region.
The Israeli army carries out almost regular arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community. According to Palestinian figures, illegal settlers staged 341 attacks against Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank last month.
Since the start of the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, at least 970 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
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