Israeli government approves construction of 22 West Bank settlements
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the plan as "a strategic step to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel."
The Israeli government has approved the construction of 22 new settlements in the West Bank, specifically describing one of the purposes of the move as being to “avoid the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.”
As reported by Israeli media, Israel’s Ministry of Defence, Israel Katz, released a statement describing how the new settlement plan “constitutes an essential protective wall for the security of the large population centres in Israel and we must do everything in order to broaden and strengthen this wall of protection”.
He went on refer to it as “a strategic step to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.”
It is understood that Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the plan two weeks ago. It includes plans to rebuild the settlements of Homesh and Sa-Nur in the northern West Bank, which were evacuated as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement in 2005, but which have proved flashpoints in recent years as settlers have attempted to return. Four of the 22 planned settlements are intended to be built close to Israel’s border with Jordan.
In a social media post commenting on the move, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right minister of finance, described it as a “once-in-a-generation…historic decision.”
He went on to describe how “settlement in the land of our ancestors is the protective wall of the State of Israel – today we have taken a huge step to strengthen it. The next step – sovereignty!”
Last year, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding, advisory ruling stating that Israel’s actions in the West Bank amounted to attempts at permanent annexation, and that its settlements should be evacuated.
In 2020, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to bring portions of the West Bank under Israeli sovereignty. The plans were ultimately shelved.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority, which exercises governance over portions of the West Bank, described the new settlements plan as “a serious escalation and a challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”
UK Jewish organisations such as the Board of Deputies, which has an official policy supporting a two-state solution, may face questions about the whether this new step by the Israeli government jeopardises that position. At the Board’s plenary meeting on Sunday, its president, Phil Rosenberg observed that the Israeli Government was holding meetings to approve new settlements. He said, “We do not want unilateral actions by either side which make peace harder.”
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