Israel Approves Plan to Build 5,300 Homes in Settlements in the West Bank

An Israeli NGO reported that the government of Israel approved a plan on Wednesday, July 4, to construct approximately 5,300 additional homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to 'Peace Now', this plan represents the largest instance of land confiscation from Palestinians in the last three decades. The approval of this plan is likely to escalate tensions in the West Bank, which had already intensified following the attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israeli territory on October 7. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The U.S. described Israel's move to legalize settlements in the West Bank as 'dangerous'. 'Peace Now', one of the oldest and most significant civil society organizations advocating for peace in Israel, further stated that the government's High Planning Council approved the construction of 5,295 new homes in dozens of Jewish settlements. The agency responsible for planning and controlling the occupied territories in the Israeli Ministry of Defense referred international news agencies' inquiries to the Prime Minister's Office, which has not yet responded to the media's questions. Many members of the Israeli coalition government are either residents of the settlements or political supporters of them. Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister in Benjamin Netanyahu's government, who is one of the most extreme right-wing members of the cabinet and himself from the Jewish settlement community, is responsible for policy regarding the settlements. Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, which were occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, consider these areas as inseparable parts of an independent Palestinian state. The recent approval of this plan may face criticism from the U.S. government, Israel's most important ally, which officially opposes the expansion of Jewish settlements but does not pressure Israel on this issue in practice. This controversial decision comes at a time when Israeli military attacks in Gaza continue, and exchanges of fire and clashes at Israel's northern borders with Hezbollah in Lebanon have been almost continuous during this period. Despite extensive diplomatic efforts for a gradual ceasefire and peace in Gaza, neither side, Israel nor Hamas, has accepted the recent plan, which also has implicit support from Washington. The U.S. government, without providing details, states that the amendments mentioned by Hamas regarding this plan are impractical. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has also made contradictory statements regarding this plan, which was presented about a month ago. On one hand, he confirmed that the essence of this plan was proposed by Israel, while on the other hand, he has repeatedly emphasized that he only accepts a temporary ceasefire and that after that, Israel will continue its attacks aimed at destroying Hamas.