It is expected to approve a 1 billion shekel (about $338 million) fund to build new settlements and connect them to basic infrastructure in the occupied territories, according to the Israeli anti-settlement organization Peace Now.
The plan is being pushed by Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, one of the staunchest supporters of Israeli settlement expansion, who has repeatedly said he seeks to cancel outright the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
According to the Prime Minister’s Cabinet meeting schedule, ministers are expected to discuss the establishment of temporary settlement sites in the West Bank, which have already received the necessary approvals from the government.
The official program does not say whether the relevant funding will be approved, while Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Funding for roads, water supply and new facilities
Today some 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognized by the vast majority of the international community. On the contrary, it has not proceeded to formally annex the West Bank.
The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law and relevant international conventions. The Israeli side rejects this interpretation, arguing that the Jewish presence in the region stretches back thousands of years.
In a statement, the “Peace Now” organization argued that the imminent decision of the cabinet bypasses the usual process of urban planning and licensing of the settlements. As he mentions, the specific settlements have already been approved by the Netanyahu governments during the last three years.
The organization, as well as US news website Axios, citing a draft of the decision, say the funding package will cover infrastructure projects such as access roads, plotting and preparation, sewage networks, water connections and other technical works, as well as the construction of temporary housing complexes.
“These are not new settlements,” says the government
A spokesman for Smotrich declined to elaborate on the plan, but said the decision would strengthen the presence of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
At the same time, he emphasized that these are not new settlements, but existing facilities that have already been approved and need additional infrastructure.
Just last week, Smotrich announced a major expansion of three Jewish settlements in the West Bank, with the construction of more than 2,000 new homes.
One of the biggest obstacles in the peace process
The Palestinians, as well as a large part of the international community, consider the continuous expansion of Israeli settlements to be one of the most important obstacles to reaching a peace agreement and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
They argue that the new settlements are gradually reducing the lands that could form the geographic basis of a future Palestinian state.
At the same time, the expansion of large settlements and smaller settler outposts has been accompanied in recent years by an increase in incidents of violence in the West Bank. According to human rights organizations and international observers, there have been repeated attacks by settlers against Palestinians, some of which have resulted in death.
The imminent decision of the Israeli government is expected to provoke new reactions both from the Palestinian side and from international actors, at a time when the prospects of restarting the peace process remain extremely limited.
