West Bank, MINA – Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a government plan to allocate 2.7 billion shekels for the establishment of 17 new settlements in the occupied West Bank over the next five years, marking what observers describe as an unprecedented escalation in Israel’s settlement expansion, PIC reported.
According to details of the plan, 1.1 billion shekels will be dedicated to building and strengthening the new settlements, while 660 million shekels will be directed to the 17 settlements recently approved by the government, including Maalot Halhul, Sa-Nur, and Mount Ebal.
Another 338 million shekels will support 36 settlements and outposts currently undergoing legalization. The funding will cover essential infrastructure such as water, sewage, and electricity networks, as well as public buildings including ritual baths, synagogues, and community centers—measures aimed at solidifying Jewish presence across the West Bank.
The plan also includes constructing “absorption clusters” in the new settlements, consisting of around 20 caravans per site to allow immediate relocation of settler families and form an initial population base.
Read Also: UNICEF Warns Gaza Children Face Fourth Winter of Death and Disease
Additionally, the government will allocate approximately 300 million shekels for all the new settlements—160 million as “establishment grants” and 140 million for “organization and activity.”
Existing settlements will receive 434 million shekels, distributed proportionally based on population size, for infrastructure rehabilitation. Settlement councils and settler authorities will also obtain 300 million shekels to fund local projects and services.
The plan allocates 140 million shekels for opening new access roads, primarily to support Israeli military needs, and 150 million shekels over the next three years to upgrade armored buses used by settlers.
It further includes relocating three Israeli military bases to Palestinian areas in the northern West Bank, despite the army’s previous withdrawal from these locations under the Oslo Accords.[]
Read Also: Hamas Accuses Mladenov is Protecting Israel as Gaza Ceasefire Violations
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Mina Indonesia
Mina Arabic
Mina Sport