TAYASIR, West Bank (Reuters) – Israel has approved the establishment of dozens of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, an Israeli watchdog group said on Thursday, amid a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians across the occupied territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has not formally announced the establishment of the 34 new settlements, many of them outposts in far-flung areas of the mountainous territory, the Peace Now watchdog group said in a statement.
The decision, made by the Israeli cabinet on April 1, was reported widely on Thursday by Israeli media outlets, which said Israel’s military censor had approved it for publication.
The Palestinian Presidency’s office condemned the plan as a “flagrant violation of international law”.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Yesha Council, a body that represents West Bank settlers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel’s settlements on occupied West Bank land are illegal under international law and must be withdrawn as soon as possible, the United Nations top court said last year. Some 500,000 settlers live in the West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians.
Netanyahu’s government has overseen a historic settlement construction push that his far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says is aimed at burying the idea of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank.
