Israel approves 34 new West Bank settlements

The Israeli government has approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank and allocated more than 1 billion shekels (about $275 million) for the construction of access roads and security infrastructure serving dozens of new communities.

The proposal put forward by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was approved in March, but details of the decision were not made public until now, Ynet reports.

The funding package totals 1.075 billion shekels (about $275 million) and will be transferred to Israel's Transportation and Defence ministries. The government said the money will finance access and security roads for dozens of new communities authorised during the war, including four settlements in northern Samaria that were evacuated more than 20 years ago, another Israeli media reports.

According to the government, the decision is intended to meet the immediate need for secure access roads, which it said cannot be financed through the regular development funding allocated as part of land marketing. The plan follows a multi-year proposal prepared by the Transportation Ministry in coordination with the Defence Ministry and the Finance Ministry.

Smotrich said the decision would enable the establishment of new settlements in strategically important areas of the West Bank and argued that expanding settlement infrastructure would strengthen Israel's security.

By Sabina Mammadli