Israel’s Security Cabinet on Thursday approved a plan to establish 13 new illegal settlements in the central occupied West Bank, prompting Palestinian officials to warn that the move would further fragment the territory and isolate occupied East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.
Israel’s Channel 7 reported that the Cabinet approved the construction of the settlements in the Binyamin regional area, with the first phase expected to begin in the coming months.
According to the report, the Binyamin Regional Council plans to launch the initial phase by establishing between four and six new settlements, backed by investments worth millions of shekels, or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Palestine’s Jerusalem Governorate condemned the decision, saying it forms part of a broader Israeli policy aimed at severing occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, the governorate said the plan seeks to create “new geographical realities on the ground”, particularly in areas northwest of Jerusalem, west of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorates, and along the eastern slopes towards the Jordan Valley.
The initial phase would include the construction of four to six new settlements and the legalisation of several existing settlement outposts by providing them with government funding and infrastructure, it added.
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