A fire blazes in an olive grove in the village of Salem, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on May 25, 2025, after Israeli settlers reportedly started a fire near the road to the Israeli settlement of Alon Moreh, according to eyewitnesses and the local village council. (Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)
JERUSALEM — Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday the creation in the occupied West Bank of 22 new Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which are considered illegal under international law and would see the displacement of yet another wave of Palestinians from their homes.
"We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing settlement in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel," the minister said on X, using the Israeli term for the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.
"Next step: sovereignty!" he added.
Israeli settlers have increased their violent attacks against Palestinians, their homes, livestock and orchards in the West Bank since the war in Gaza started. One Palestinian family returned home from iftar during Ramadan to find an Israeli family had occupied their home, under the protection of the Israeli army.
Israeli forces often order Palestinians to demolish their own homes in order to make way for Israeli settlements, with the most recent report coming from occupied East Jerusalem earlier this month.
In a statement on Telegram, the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move to develop further settlments a "once-in-a-generation decision," saying the initiative had been led by Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz and approved by the security cabinet.
"The decision also includes the establishment of four communities along the eastern border with Jordan, as part of strengthening Israel's eastern backbone, national security and strategic grip on the area," it said.
The party published a map showing the 22 sites spread across Palestinian land.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are condemned by the United Nations and much of the international community as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The announcement comes ahead of an international conference to be led by France and Saudi Arabia at U.N. headquarters in New York next month, which is meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It also comes after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday he had "very good feelings" about the prospects for a Gaza cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, adding that he expected to send out a new proposal imminently.
JERUSALEM — Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday the creation in the occupied West Bank of 22 new Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which are considered illegal under international law and would see the displacement of yet another wave of Palestinians from their homes.
"We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing settlement in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel," the minister said on X, using the Israeli term for the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.
"Next step: sovereignty!" he added.Israeli settlers have increased their violent attacks against Palestinians, their homes, livestock and orchards in the West Bank since the war in...
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