Israel’s government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied-West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday (May 29), a move that could deepen divisions with some allies, who have threatened sanctions over further expansion.
Far-right Smotrich, an advocate for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the new settlements would be located in the northern area of the West Bank, without specifying where.
Israeli media cited the Defense Ministry as saying that among the new Jewish settlements, existing “outposts” would be legalised and new settlements would also be built.
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.
Palestinians see expansion of the settlements as a hindrance to their aspirations to establish an independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
There is a growing list of European countries demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, while Britain, France and Canada this month warned Israel it could impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to expand settlements in the West Bank.