“We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice,” said Smotrich, an ultranationalist sanctioned by Britain, France and others. [Getty]
Israel’s fanatical finance minister announced on Wednesday a major expansion by more than 2,000 homes of three illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Most nations consider Israeli settlements there to be illegal under international law and have effectively destroyed the possibility of a two-state solution.
Bezalel Smotrich, who is wanted internationally for crimes against humanity, holds authority over parts of Israel’s civilian administration in the occupied West Bank, said a planning committee approved the construction of 2,162 new Jewish homes. They include 1,006 units in a new settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near the Palestinian city of Nablus and 234 near Hebron.
“We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice,” said Smotrich, an ultranationalist sanctioned by Britain, France and others because of his persistence in inciting violence against Palestinians.
The new homes would “strengthen our hold on the land, reinforce Israel’s security, and establish clear facts on the ground that prevent the creation of an Arab terror state in the heart of the country,” Smotrich said in a statement, without specifying when construction would begin.
Since becoming a minister three years ago, Smotrich has sought to tighten Israel’s control and occupation in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has overseen the significant expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and the establishment of new ones.
Palestinians want the occupied West Bank as part of a future independent state that includes East Jerusalem and Gaza. But around half a million Israeli settlers live illegally in the occupied West Bank among about 3 million Palestinians.
US President Donald Trump’s administration, like all previous US governments, has been far less critical of the fast-expanding Israeli settlements.
Smotrich, on 19 May, said he threatened to wage “war” on the Palestinian Authority after he said he was told the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity.
