Israel decides 22 new settlements in the West Bank - protest loud!

Israel decides 22 new settlements in the West Bank - protest loud!

Westjordanland, Israel - Israel has announced the plans for creating 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. This decision, which was made in a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet, was confirmed by Finance Minister Bezhalel Smotrich on platform X. Smotrich described the day as great for the settlement project and as important for Israel. Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke of a historical decision that underlines the "historical law of Israel on the country", as ZVW

The new settlements come at a time when Israel is already planning to build 4560 new residential units in West Bank. These projects were placed on the agenda of the Supreme Planning Council, which will meet next week. According to Tagesschau there are a total of 1332 apartments for final approval, while others are in the provisional procedure. Smotrich, who also acts as a minister in the Ministry of Defense, has made it clear that settlement construction should continue to strengthen the Israeli influence in the region.

criticism of the settlement plans

The decision was sharply criticized, in particular by the Peace Now peace movement, which has described approval as the greatest settlement expansion for decades. They warned that many illegal or unauthorized outposts are now recognized as settlements. Of the planned 22 new settlements, only nine are actually new, which increases concern about the intensification of the settlement building, such as Germanyfunk

The international community, including the British State Secretary Hamish Falconer, also expressed her concerns. Falconer called the measures contrary to international law and a threat to the two -state solution. Many countries, including Germany and the USA, consider the Israeli settlements in West Bank as illegal. This criticism is underpinned by the fact that the UN Security Council already described the settlements as a violation of international law and asked Israel to hire all settlement activities.

background of settlement policy

Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War and annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 in violation of international law. Today around 600,000 Israelis live in more than 200 settlements in the West Bank. Historically, settlement construction was often justified with security interests, but a significant part of the settlers is also ideologically or religiously motivated. The settlements are connected by streets that cut the Palestinian area, which led to expropriations of Palestinians for construction projects.

The Palestinian Authority has convicted the announcements of the settlement as dangerous and demands international pressure on Israel. She even boycotted a session of the Joint Economic Committee with Israel planned for Monday. The expansion of the settlements is in direct contradiction to an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which should expose one -sided steps for four to six months. Despite a compromise made in Egypt to suspend new settlements, settlement construction remains a controversial topic and an obstacle to peace and stability in the region.