Hebrew media sources have revealed that the Israeli Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs (the Cabinet) has approved a massive budget to bolster the settlement project in the occupied West Bank. According to the leaked information, this budget amounted to approximately 1.3 billion shekels, equivalent to 370 million US dollars, allocated for establishing new settlement outposts and expanding existing ones.
Reports clarified that this decision was made about a month ago, but the Israeli government preferred to keep it under wraps and away from official media circulation. This secrecy comes in the context of Tel Aviv's attempts to avoid a diplomatic confrontation with the American administration and to prevent embarrassing Washington, which ostensibly opposes settlement expansion.
This step was based on a joint proposal submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in cooperation with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlement Minister Orit Strock. This tripartite coordination reflects the current government's orientation, which is described as the most supportive of settlers since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967.
The new budget aims to fund the establishment of additional settlement neighborhoods in dozens of settlements that received prior ministerial approvals during the current government's term. The allocations also include developing the basic infrastructure necessary to begin actual construction work, in parallel with completing ongoing development projects in various areas of the West Bank.
Sources indicate that this decision represents a new link in a series of measures approved by the government in recent months to entrench the settlement presence. These measures included funding the construction of new bypass roads, undertaking extensive engineering planning, and enhancing security measures around emerging settlements.
Despite the disclosure of the budget's size, official bodies have not precisely identified the geographical locations where the new settlements will be established. This ambiguity raises Palestinian and international concerns about targeting strategic areas aimed at dissecting the West Bank and isolating its cities from each other.
Previous reports in April indicated that the Cabinet had secretly approved the legalization and establishment of 34 new settlements in various areas of the West Bank. The secrecy of those decisions was maintained at the time to avoid international pressure, especially given the political sensitivity related to the annexation of Palestinian territories.
Current statistics indicate the presence of approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers distributed among 141 official settlements and 224 illegal settlement outposts. About a quarter of a million of these settlers are concentrated in 15 major settlements built on the lands of occupied East Jerusalem, complicating any future political solutions.
These settlement movements coincide with ongoing field escalation by the Israeli army and settler groups against Palestinian citizens and their property. These attacks include house demolitions and destruction of facilities, sabotage of agricultural lands, and displacement of Bedouin communities, creating a bitter reality on the ground.
For its part, the Palestinian leadership warned that these systematic policies aim to impose the de facto annexation of the West Bank and undermine the two-state solution. It considered that Israel's continued encroachment on Palestinian lands disregards all international resolutions that deem settlement illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The decision to allocate the settlement budget was kept secret to avoid embarrassing the Americans and their political pressure.
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Secret $370 Million Budget: Israeli Plan to Boost Settlement in West Bank