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The Israeli government has signed an 8.5 billion-shekel ($2.3 billion) framework agreement to build 12,000 new homes and fund major infrastructure projects in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.
Israel's Channel 14 described the agreement as a "historic" and "giant" step aimed at expanding settlements and "changing the face of the region."
The deal was signed at an official ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Land Authority Director General Yehuda Eliyahu and Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council.
The council oversees numerous Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank.
Channel 14 said the agreement was the first of its kind in Israel's history to be signed with a local administrative authority that does not have city status.
It was also described as the highest-budget agreement ever reached with such a regional council and as a major achievement for Israel's political right and settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Of the total budget, 1.5 billion shekels will be allocated to strategic development and major infrastructure projects.
The remaining 7 billion shekels will be used to modernize existing settlements, construct public buildings and carry out environmental projects.
The agreement also provides for extensive industrial, commercial and employment areas, alongside the construction of 12,000 housing units.
Road networks, junctions and drainage systems across the region will also be renewed.
Channel 14 said the agreement would give "significant momentum" to the expansion of settlements and the modernization of infrastructure in the northern West Bank.
Dagan, one of the leading representatives of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, recited a prayer of gratitude during the signing ceremony and described the agreement as a historic turning point.
He said Israel was rebuilding 18 settlements in the northern West Bank, including settlements that had previously been evacuated.
"We are rebuilding 18 settlements in northern Shomron, including those that were previously evacuated," Dagan said. "Our ultimate goal in this region is to reach a settled population of 1 million."
Kfar Etzion, an Israeli settlement in the southern West Bank, is considered the first settlement established after Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967.
Hundreds of additional settlements have since been built across the occupied territory.
According to 2024 data from Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, about 3 million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem.
The Israeli settler population in the West Bank has exceeded 500,000, while around 250,000 additional settlers live in occupied East Jerusalem.
Apart from 19 settlements approved by the Israeli government on Dec. 11, there are 141 settlements in the occupied West Bank.
An additional 224 outposts established by far-right Jewish groups are considered unauthorized even under Israeli law.
The total number of settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank stands at 365. The Israeli government has frequently granted unilateral approval to outposts previously considered unauthorized under Israeli law.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the transfer of Israel's population into those areas are considered illegal under international law.
The United Nations has repeatedly said settlement activity violates international law and warned that continued expansion undermines the prospects of a two-state solution.
Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state under international resolutions that do not recognize Israel's 1967 occupation or its 1980 annexation of the city.
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