By Benjamin Raab
JERUSALEM, June 3 (Reuters) – Israel’s hardline finance minister announced on Wednesday a major expansion by more than 2,000 homes of three Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank that Palestinians hope will be part of a future independent state.
Most nations consider Israeli settlements there to be illegal under international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution for long-term peace.
Bezalel Smotrich, who holds authority over parts of Israel’s civilian administration in the West Bank, said a planning committee approved the construction of 2,162 new Jewish homes.
They include 1,006 units in a new settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near the Palestinian city of Nablus and 234 near Hebron.
“We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice,” said Smotrich, an ultranationalist sanctioned by Britain, France and others who accuse him of inciting violence against Palestinians.
Smotrich has denounced the sanctions against him, saying the measures would not change Israeli policy.
The new homes would “strengthen our hold on the land, reinforce Israel’s security, and establish clear facts on the ground that prevent the creation of an Arab terror state in the heart of the country,” Smotrich said in a statement, without specifying when construction would begin.
Since becoming a minister three years ago, Smotrich has sought to tighten Israel’s control and presence in the West Bank while advocating against the idea of a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has overseen the significant expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the establishment of new settlements.
INDEPENDENCE ASPIRATIONS
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state that includes East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Around half a million Israelis live in the West Bank among about 3 million Palestinians.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has been far less critical of the fast-expanding Israeli settlements.
However, Trump did say last September that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, angering some right-wing Israeli lawmakers. The United Arab Emirates, one of few Arab states to have official ties with Israel, has also publicly warned the Israeli government against annexation.
Condemning Wednesday’s announcement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office warned that Israel’s “provocative” policies were pushing the region towards more rounds of violence and called on the U.S. to stop the Israeli “madness”.
Smotrich on May 19 said he would wage “war” on the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited civic rule in the West Bank, after he said he was told the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest warrant against him. The ICC has not confirmed that.
(Reporting by Benjamin Raab & Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem, additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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