Israeli government approves new settlement in occupied West Bank

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli government approved on Wednesday the construction of a new Jewish-only settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the building of the Nahal Heletz settlement near Bethlehem a “historic moment.”

The Israeli government allocated some 148 acres of land to build the new settlement, which will be part of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.

“Today the Civil Administration finished its professional work and published a new blue line for the settlement of Nahal Halitz in Gush Etzion,” Smotrich said on X.

“No anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism will stop the continued development of the settlements. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state and establish facts on the ground. This is my life’s mission,” he added.

The new settlement is one of five settlement outposts that the Israeli government agreed to legalize in the occupied West Bank last June in response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by Spain, Norway, Ireland, Slovenia, and Armenia.

Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and called for the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala