Israel announces new West Bank settlements

The Israeli occupation government has approved 22 new Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said today, Reuters reported.

Far-right Smotrich, an advocate for Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, wrote on X that the new settlements would be located in the northern area of the West Bank, without specifying where.

Israeli media cited the Defence Ministry as saying that among the new Jewish settlements, existing “outposts” would be legalised and new settlements would also be built.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 war. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.

Palestinians and the UN have warned that the expansion of settlements is a hindrance to their aspirations to establish an independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

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Settlements limit Palestinian ability to travel between cities or even reach their farmland, forcing the 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank to live in isolated towns and cities surrounded by settlements and roads which only settlers are allowed to use.

There is a growing list of European countries demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, while Britain, France and Canada this month warned Israel it could impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to expand settlements in the West Bank.

Most of the international community considers the Jewish settlements illegal. The Israeli government deems settlements legal under its own laws, while some so-called “outposts” are illegal but often tolerated and sometimes later legalised.

Settlement activity in the West Bank has accelerated sharply since the war on Gaza, now in its 20th month, adding to escalating Israeli military attacks against Palestinians and increasing numbers of settler attacks targeting Palestinian residents.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called Israel’s decision a “dangerous escalation”, accusing the government of continuing to drag the region into a “cycle of violence and instability”.

“This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” he said, urging US President Donald Trump’s administration to intervene.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned the announcement and called on the United States and the European Union to take action.

“The announcement of the building of 22 new settlements in the West Bank is part of the war led by [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu against the Palestinian people,” Abu Zuhri said.

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