Israeli cabinet backs 19 new settlements in West Bank

Israel’s cabinet has approved a proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the ultranationalist finance minister says, pushing ahead with the government’s building spree in the region.

This brings the total number of new settlements in the past few years to 69, setting a new record, according to Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, who has promoted the settlement expansion agenda in the West Bank.

The latest include two who were previously evicted during the 2005 secession plan.

The approval increased the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50 percent during the current government’s tenure.

In 2022, there were 141 settlements in the West Bank.

There are 210 after final approval, according to anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now.

The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law.

The approval came as the United States pushed Israel and Hamas to move to the second phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which took effect on October 10.

The US-brokered plan calls for a possible “road” to a Palestinian state, which the settlements aim to block.

The finance ministry said the cabinet decision included the retroactive legalization of some previously established settlements or neighborhoods of existing settlements and the creation of settlements on land from which Palestinians were removed.

Settlements can vary in size from a single residence to multi-storey buildings.

The ministry said two of the settlements legalized in the final approval were Kadim and Ghanim, two of four West Bank settlements disbanded in 2005 as part of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

There were numerous attempts to resettle them after the Israeli government in March 2023 repealed the law that evacuated the four outposts in 2005 and prohibited Israelis from re-entering the areas.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 war, which Palestinians claim for a future state.

It settled more than 500,000 Jews in the West Bank, as well as more than 200,000 in disputed East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah said two Palestinians, one of whom was 16 years old, were killed in clashes with the Israeli army in the northern part of the West Bank on Saturday night.

The Israeli army said that a militant was shot and killed after he threw a block at the troops in Kabatiya, and another militant was killed after he threw explosives at the troops operating in the town of Silat al-Harithiya.

The Israeli army has stepped up military operations in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led offensive that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

The Holy Land’s top Catholic leader visited the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church and celebrated a pre-Christmas mass on Sunday, which included the baptism of a baby.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered at the Holy Family Congregation.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on his fourth visit to the region since the start of the war, said the Christian community aimed to be “a stable, solid point of reference in this sea of ​​destruction” as reconstruction slowly begins.

“This time it’s different,” Pizzaballa said.

“I saw the new desire for a new life.”

The Holy Family compound was hit by fragments of an Israeli artillery shell in July, killing three people in what Israel described as an accident and expressed regret.

The community served as a refuge for Christians and Muslims, sheltering hundreds of displaced people.

There was a mixture of gratitude and sadness as people in the church celebrated Christmas away from home.

“They welcomed us with great love and respect,” Habashi said to 78-year-old Nazih Lam, who was staying there with his family.

“This is the third holiday we have celebrated since the war.”

“Hopefully, life will get better,” said 67-year-old Najla Saba.