Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced plans to construct 2,162 new housing units in the occupied West Bank, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Palestinian leaders and renewed international concern over settlement expansion.
What has been announced?
The plan includes:
1,006 homes near a new settlement close to Jerusalem
922 housing units near Nablus
234 units near Hebron
Smotrich said the expansion is intended to “strengthen Israel’s hold on the land” and establish “facts on the ground” that would make the creation of a Palestinian state more difficult.
Why is it controversial?
The settlement expansion takes place in territory widely recognized under international law as occupied. Most countries and international bodies consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.
Critics say such expansions increase tensions and reduce the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution.
Palestinian officials condemned the announcement, with President Mahmoud Abbas’s office warning that the policy is pushing the region toward further instability and violence. It also called on the United States to intervene.
Smotrich, a far-right minister who has already been sanctioned by several European countries including the United Kingdom and France, has repeatedly defended settlement expansion despite global criticism.
Those sanctions were imposed over accusations of incitement and support for extremist policies against Palestinians. Smotrich has rejected the sanctions and insisted they will not affect Israeli policy.
Reports from Palestinian media indicate that Israeli forces have also issued demolition notices targeting shops in areas near Nablus, reportedly to clear space for new road construction.
In separate incidents, settlers accompanied by bulldozers were reported to have entered villages near Ramallah, raising further tensions in the area.
The announcement comes months after Israel approved a land registration policy allowing the state to classify certain West Bank areas as “state land” if Palestinians cannot prove ownership — a move critics say facilitates further land seizures.
The latest settlement expansion is expected to intensify diplomatic tensions and deepen disputes over the future of the occupied West Bank, where violence and political confrontation have continued to escalate.
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