Shameful – Mark
This picture taken from Nablus on March 23, 2025 shows east of the city the new expansion of the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH: The Palestinian foreign ministry and an anti-settlement watchdog group on Sunday condemned an Israeli decision to recognize more than a dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank, upgrading existing neighborhoods to independent settlement status.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier announced that the security cabinet approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements from their neighboring communities.
Smotrich, a far-right leader and settler who was behind the cabinet’s decision, hailed it as an “important step” for Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Smotrich is a leading voice calling for Israel to formally annex the West Bank — as it did in 1967 after capturing east Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most of the international community.
The settlements will ultimately be recognized as independent, he posted on X about the move, which follows the approval of tens of thousands of housing units across the West Bank.
“We continue to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologizing – we raise the flag, build and settle. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said, using Israel’s term for the West Bank.
Israel’s opposition to ceding control of the West Bank has been deepened by its fears of a repeat of the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants. Its military says it is conducting counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and targeting suspected militants.
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