Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich revealed the government's intention to approve the construction of 763 new settlement units in the 'Eli' settlement, built on citizens' lands south of Nablus. This step comes as part of a strategy aimed at tripling the current area of the settlement within the next few years. Media sources explained that this project will allow for attracting thousands of new settlers to the area and strengthening the settlement presence deep in the West Bank.
Smotrich indicated in statements reported by Hebrew media that the plan is not limited to housing units but also extends to include the development of extensive infrastructure belonging to the 'Binyamin' settlement council. The plan includes the establishment of new settlement farms and sub-towns aimed at connecting settlement blocs. This announcement is part of a broader policy pursued by the current government, which has approved the establishment of more than 100 settlements and dozens of agricultural outposts since taking power in late 2022.
In a related context, human rights data issued by the 'B'Tselem' organization indicate that the number of settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has reached approximately 750,000 settlers. These are distributed among 141 major settlements and 224 random settlement outposts that enjoy direct government protection and support. These figures reflect the accelerating pace of seizing Palestinian lands and transforming them into areas of influence for settlers, thereby tightening the noose on Palestinian population centers.
On the ground, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented a dangerous escalation in the pace of settler attacks, with approximately 3488 attacks recorded during the first half of this year alone. These violations varied between armed attacks on villages, burning homes and properties, and firing live ammunition at civilians. This wave of organized violence has led to the martyrdom of 17 Palestinians, amid international silence and security complicity by the occupation authorities.
For their part, official and popular Palestinian circles warned that these expansionist plans represent an actual prelude to the official annexation of the West Bank and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over it. National activities affirmed that the intensification of settlement and settler attacks primarily aims to undermine any future opportunity for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state. These actions are considered a blatant violation of all international resolutions that consider settlement illegal and an obstacle to achieving peace in the region.
The plan aims to increase the size of the settlement threefold in the coming years, allowing for the accommodation of thousands of new settlers.
שתף את דעתך
Israeli plan to expand Eli settlement south of Nablus threefold