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Settlement expansion approved
Israel signed an 8.5 billion-shekel ($2.3 billion) framework agreement to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the construction of 12,000 new housing units and major infrastructure projects, according to Israeli media.
The agreement was signed at an official ceremony attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Land Authority Director General Yehuda Eliyahu and Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, which oversees numerous Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank.
Israel’s Channel 14 described the agreement as a “giant” step aimed at expanding settlements and “changing the face of the region.”
Peace Now said around 500,000 Israeli occupiers live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, in addition to about 250,000 living in settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
In parallel, Israel’s security cabinet approved a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($434 million) for establishing 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Smotrich saying it added to tensions over territory widely viewed as central to a potential Palestinian state.
Smotrich frames it as security
Smotrich, who is head of the Religious Zionism party and running in the upcoming legislative election on October 27, called the cabinet’s decision historic and a “day of celebration for Israel and settlements,” thanking Netanyahu for his support.
In a statement, Smotrich said, “We are strengthening the security of the State of Israel, killing the idea of establishing a terrorist state in the heart of the country.”
The Reuters report said U.N. bodies, Palestinians and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international conventions, while Israel disputes that stance.
France 24 reported that Peace Now said Netanyahu’s government referred a plan to earmark one billion shekels (about $339.7 million) to build new settlements to the small Security Cabinet, delaying a vote on the funds.
Peace Now also said the move would “bypass the usual planning process for settlements,” while UN bodies and most countries consider West Bank settlements illegal, citing international treaties.
Funding and political stakes
Palestinian fears of consolidation of control over the West Bank were tied to a plan to finance the creation of 61 new settlements, with Peace Now expecting Israel to approve the allocation of one billion shekels ($337.8 million) to build new settlements and connect them to infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.
“The timing of this proposal takes on special importance, as the government seeks to push through the funding before a potential vote on dissolving the Knesset and calling new elections”
A Palestinian official told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the plan would “transfers settlement plans to the execution stage on the ground and speeds up steps to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian land.”
Al-Quds Al-Arabi said the plan would fund temporary “residential compounds” and public buildings, community infrastructure and support services, even before formal planning procedures are completed.
The Resistance to the Wall and Settlements Authority’s head, Minister Moayed Shaban, told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the danger lay not only in the size of the budget but in mechanisms to circumvent planning and building procedures, including classifying facilities as temporary or using military orders.
Euronews reported that the Small Cabinet was expected to vote on a broad funding plan aimed at supporting what it described as de facto settlement presence in 61 West Bank settlement outposts, with the initiative described as a shift “beyond planning toward immediate implementation”.
