Bezalal Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist advocating for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the settlements would be in the northern West Bank, without specifying where.
A spokesperson for Defence Minister Israel Katz did not respond to a text message seeking comment on the announcement.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a “dangerous escalation”, accusing Israel of continuing to drag the region into a “cycle of violence and instability”.
After the announcement, B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organisation, accused the right-wing government of advancing “Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.”
The decision was praised by Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish settlements and has close ties with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ganz said the move countered the Palestinian Authority’s bid to establish a state.
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.
There is a growing list of European countries demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, while Britain, France and Canada this month warned Israel they could impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to broaden settlement in the West Bank.
Settlement activity in the West Bank has accelerated sharply since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its 20th month. Israel has also stepped up military operations against Palestinian militants in the West Bank and settler attacks on Palestinian residents have increased.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Thursday’s decision was part of “the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people”. He urged the United States and European Union to respond to Israel’s announcement by taking action.
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