West Bank: Israel to establish 22 new Jewish settlements

New Delhi: Israel said on Thursday it would establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, which includes legalisation of outposts already without government authorisation.
According to the media reports, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the settlement decision will strengthen his country’s hold on Judea and Samaria, the Biblical terms for the West Bank.
He said this: “anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism.”
Israel has already built more than 100 settlements across the West Bank, home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers. These settlements range from small outposts to fully-developed communities with apartment blocks, shops, shopping malls, factories, and public parks. The settlers have Israeli citizenship.
The West Bank is home to 3 million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule, with the West-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centres.
Israel has accelerated settlement construction in recent years, long before Hamas’ attack on it on October 7, 2023, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. It has since confined Palestinians to smaller and smaller areas of Gaza as well as the West Bank and making the prospect of establishing a viable, independent state even more remote.

(Subham Singh)