The government of Benjamin Netanyahu is advancing a plan for the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with nearly $340 million in funding, according to a report by The New York Times. The move is part of a broader effort to entrench the Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territories and comes at a politically sensitive moment, ahead of an election.
According to the plan cited by the NYT, the government intends to install temporary structures at more than 60 empty sites in the West Bank. Each location would include 15 trailers and two community facilities, allowing the sites to quickly take on the characteristics of settlements. Although the structures will be presented as temporary, the political objective is to create facts on the ground that would be difficult for a future government to reverse.
Since 2022, the Netanyahu government has approved 100 new settlements, in addition to the 127 that already existed, which are considered illegal under international law.
Reuters reported that the proposal was not immediately approved by the cabinet, but was instead referred to the smaller security cabinet. The initiative is mainly attributed to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key supporter of settlement expansion.
According to the Israeli organization Peace Now, since late 2022 the current government has approved more than 100 new settlements or settlement outposts, while 127 official settlements previously existed. Settlements are considered illegal under international law by most of the international community.
Sources: Reuters, The New York Times
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