Israel on Sunday approved plans for thousands of new settlements in the occupied West Bank. This is reported by international news agencies. The government also expanded the powers of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to speed up the construction of illegal settlements. The new measure eases the expansion of settlements on Palestinian territory, which are considered illegal under international law
The change in law allows Smotrich, a strong proponent of Jewish colonization, to bypass the 27-year-old six-step process for building settlements. As a result, nothing stands in the way of the approval of 4,560 new housing units in the occupied West Bank. Until now, objections could be raised by interested parties or the international community at any of the six stages of the settlement-building process.
In a response Sunday evening, the United States, traditionally an ally of Israel, expressed concern about the new developments. The US State Department is calling on Israel to resume dialogue to de-escalate the situation. “The United States opposes such unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult and an obstacle to peace,” a spokesperson told the AP news agency.
Fear new tensions
The construction and expansion of settlements in Palestinian territory is an important part of the policy that the Netanyahu government wants to pursue in the occupied West Bank. Since taking office, she approved 7,000 new housing units, most of them in the occupied West Bank.
Bezalel Smotrich said in an explanation on Twitter that Israel continue to develop the “settlement project” and strengthen Israeli control over the area.” The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the Israeli decision as “dangerous” and called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to reverse the decision.
The amendment to the law has once again increased fears of new tensions and armed violence. Hamas condemned the new decision and the Palestinian political movement Fatah warned that “the settlers of the West Bank will be removed as they were removed from the Gaza Strip.”
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