Israel Expands West Bank Settler Occupation

On Wednesday, Israel's Supreme Planning Council approved the construction of 3,426 new housing units in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

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The houses are in the settlements of Efrat, Ma'aleh Adumim and Kedar, according to a statement released on behalf of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

This far-right politician is also a settler leader who is responsible for the construction in the settlements in the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Since March 2023, Israel has approved 18,515 housing units in the settlements, Smotrich said, adding that the Netanyahu administration "has made huge investments in the development of transportation infrastructure, employment and quality of life" in the settlements.

According to the majority of member countries of the United Nations, those settlements are illegal and represent a major hurdle to peace, as they are located in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories where the Palestinians wish to build their future state.

On Wednesday, as the Zionist state consolidates its takeover of Palestinian territories in the West Bank, the Gaza-based Health Ministry reported that Israeli occupation forces killed 86 Palestinians and wounded 113 others during the last 24 hours.

These new violence figures bring the death toll from Israeli attacks to 30,717 Palestinians killed and 72,156 people wounded as of Oct. 7, 2023.