Israeli Cabinet ‘secretly’ approves 22 new illegal settlements in occupied West Bank: Report
Palestinian presidency says construction of new illegal settlements on Palestinian land constitutes 'dangerous escalation'
JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL
The Israeli Security Cabinet has “secretly” approved the construction of 22 new illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, the Cabinet “secretly approved two weeks ago the establishment of 22 settlements in Judea and Samaria,” using the Israeli term for the West Bank.
The decision includes re-establishing the illegal settlements of Homesh and Sa-Nur, which were dismantled under Israel’s 2005 unilateral “disengagement plan” from the Gaza Strip.
The report added that the proposal was submitted by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
For its part, the Palestinian presidency said that the Israeli government's approval of 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank constitutes "a dangerous escalation that drags the region into a cycle of violence and instability."
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the presidential spokesperson, stated: "The Israeli government's secret approval to establish 22 new settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, represents a serious escalation and a challenge to international legitimacy and international law."
Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967 and later withdrew from it in 1994 under the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993. In 2005, Israel dismantled its settlements in Gaza under the same disengagement plan.
On May 12, the Cabinet also approved the resumption of land registration procedures in Area C of the West Bank, which remains under full Israeli control and makes up approximately 61% of the territory.
On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful.
The court emphasized the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and the need to evacuate all Israeli settlements established on occupied land.
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.
