Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Friday (22/3) declared 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank as state land. The statement is part of steps that will make it easier to use the land for residential development.
The announcement underscores Israel's determination to continue building settlements in the West Bank, despite international opposition. Smotrich made this announcement to coincide with the visit of United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Palestinian authorities condemned the act.
“Even though there are parties in Israel and in the world who seek to undermine our rights to Judea and Samaria and the country in general, we are pushing for settlements through hard work and with a strategic approach throughout the country,” Smotrich said. He used the names mentioned in the Bible for the West Bank region.
The village of Turmus Ayya near the city of Ramallah shows in the background the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo: AFP)
The designation of 1,976 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley as state land follows a similar designation of 300 hectares of land in the Maale Adumim area in the West Bank, which Palestine wants as the core of a future independent state.
The US said last month that Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank was inconsistent with international law. This marks a return to old US policies that were canceled by the previous Donald Trump administration.
The change brings Washington back into line with most countries in the world, which consider settlements built on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war to be illegal. Israel itself disputes that view, arguing that the Jewish people have historical and Biblical ties to the land.
Palestinians say the expansion of settlements in the West Bank is part of Israel's deliberate policy to undermine its ambition to create an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the latest move was a “continuation of the extermination and expulsion of our people from their homeland”.
“International failure to protect our people is a form of complicity and cover for Israel to avoid punishment,” he added.
Smotrich is an influential leader of one of the right-wing pro-settler parties in Netanyahu's coalition. He himself lives in a settlement and consistently supports settlement development.
International pressure to restart efforts to achieve a two-state solution, in which Palestine becomes an independent state alongside Israel, is growing amid efforts to end the nearly six-month war in Gaza.
Little progress has been made in achieving Palestinian statehood since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s. One obstacle is the expansion of Israeli settlements. (ah/ft)