Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

Israel allocates $37M to develop alleged Jewish heritage sites in occupied West Bank amid intensified settlement expansion

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Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, during an interview in Tel Aviv, Israel on, 5 December 2024 [Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg/ Getty Images]

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday the allocation of $37 million to develop alleged Jewish heritage sites in the West Bank, amid intensified illegal settlement expansion in the occupied territory, Anadolu reports.

“For the first time in history, 113 million shekels ($37 million) will be allocated to develop more than 70 heritage sites in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said on the US social media company X, using Israel’s biblical term for the West Bank.

Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, did not identify the targeted sites.

In May, the Knesset approved the first reading of a bill to establish the so-called “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority,” which would place Roman, Byzantine and Crusader-era sites under the authority of Israel’s Heritage Ministry.

READ: Israeli occupiers burn 3 Palestinian vehicles, damage power grid in West Bank

The bill also allows for the confiscation and purchase of real estate related to such sites, prompting the Palestinian Authority to warn that the measure aims to expand Israeli control and deepen illegal settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory.

According to Smotrich, 104 illegal settlements and 160 outposts have been approved in the West Bank since the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in late 2022.

Around 750,000 occupiers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian figures.

UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016, states that Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have “no legal validity” and constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

​​​​​​​In a landmark advisory opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

READ: Israeli defense minister backtracks on West Bank commander’s dismissal amid army row

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Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel. New Labour UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues Labour party policy of active support and complicity in Israel's genocide.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel. New Labour UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues Labour party policy of active support and complicity in Israel’s genocide.

Continue ReadingIsrael allocates $37M to develop alleged Jewish heritage sites in occupied West Bank amid intensified settlement expansion

Colonial expansion is always accompanied by the international community’s unspoken consent

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A view of the destruction caused by Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, as seen from Israel on July 02, 2026. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

by Ramona Wadi  walzerscent

It takes little to ascertain that the reason for Israel’s genocide in Gaza was colonial expansion. Israel made no secret of it from the start, with talks about forced transfer and attempts to involve the international community in its war crimes. Settlement leaders were also very vocal about resettling in Gaza throughout the genocide and recently ridiculed the EU’s sanctions against Israeli settler leaders and organisations. The latter, unfortunately, is probably well placed ridicule as sanctions without decolonisation will not stop Israel’s colonial expansion, as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich revealed this week.

Israeli media reported Smotrich stating that there are plans for three Israeli settlements awaiting approval by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a meeting with the mayor of Sderot Alon Davidi, Smotrich announced, “The Settlement Administration, under my leadership in the Defence Ministry, has completed its staff work, and we are ready to establish three settlements immediately once we receive the green light from the prime minister.”

Smotrich’s colonial reasoning follows earlier comments by several Israeli leaders that link settlements to Israeli security. The planned settlements are perceived as part of a plan that will provide a security buffer for Jewish settlers living on the border with Gaza.

Recently Netanyahu announced his instructions to the Israeli military to occupy 70 per cent of Gaza. Smotrich’s announced plan only reaffirms what the international community is so intent on denying – military occupation is setting the scene for Israel’s colonial expansion in Gaza.

Recently Israel also announced it was reviving its forced transfer plans for Palestinians in what remains of Gaza, opting for a rebranding now under the euphemism “plan for free movement”. According to Israeli media, the rebranding would persuade Palestinians in Gaza to comply, while also bringing foreign countries on board.

READ: The international community is not opposing Netanyahu’s threat

For Palestinians, forced transfer and a plan for free movement reek of the same colonial violence. There is no free movement when Palestinians are forced into 30 per cent of what remains in Gaza; indeed there has been no bigger show of coercion by Israel which forces Palestinians to leave, apart from the destruction of the genocide itself.

The impossibility of living without land is obvious, but offering a forced way out of Gaza is ethnic cleansing, not a free, individual decision.

The international community, however, is another matter altogether when it comes to ethnic cleansing and settlement expansion. Almost ten years ago, the UNSC approved Resolution 2334 which spares colonialism while taking issue with settlement expansion. To date, quarterly meetings discussing its implementation are still taking place, even though there is no implementation of Resolution 2334. Israel is up against nothing when it comes to the international community. It knows that settlement expansion in Gaza will be condemned but not stopped, as long as the international community can keep up appearances with briefings that are as bogus as the two-state paradigm itself.

The UN has created a brand of impunity which would force it to collapse on itself, were it to truly challenge Israel on war crimes and international law violations.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, Palestinians who survived are living the unliveable, stranded in a shrinking territory while Israel gambles with euphemisms and waits for its colonial triumph.

READ: The EU does not need to clarify its support for Israeli colonialism

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.

Continue ReadingColonial expansion is always accompanied by the international community’s unspoken consent

Palestine slams Israeli plan to establish 100 illegal settlement sites in occupied West Bank

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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and illegal Israeli settlers attend the inauguration ceremony of the illegal “Doren” settlement outpost, established south of Hebron in West Bank, on June 16, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]

Palestine on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel’s illegal settlement plan targeting about 100 locations inside the so-called Area A in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.

“The move represents an additional development in Israeli colonial thinking and a blatant violation of international law and signed agreements,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry described the plan as “a systematic war crime” aimed at imposing new facts by force on occupied Palestinian land, undermining security and stability, and destroying the foundations of the two-state solution.

“Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territory,” it said. “The occupation and settlement activity in all forms have no legitimacy and constitute a crime under international law, international consensus and UN resolutions.”

“Israel’s continued illegal occupation and colonial settlement system are the root of suffering and the main reason for the absence of security and peace in the Middle East,” the ministry continued.

It called on the international community and UN institutions, including the Security Council, to take practical deterrent measures to stop colonial settlement and compel Israel, as the occupying power, to comply with international law and UN resolutions.

READ: Israeli forces begin paving settlement road near Bethlehem, uproot olive trees west of Jenin

The ministry also called for implementing the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, forcing Israel to abandon its colonial plans and abide by signed agreements, in a way that guarantees an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israeli occupier groups are said to have prepared a plan to seize 100 strategic locations in the Palestinian Authority-administered Area A of the occupied West Bank.

The Israel Hayom newspaper said the plan, prepared by the Settler Farms Association and the Havat (Farms) Forum, aims to fundamentally reshape the map of the occupied territory.

The proposal outlines a mechanism for deploying forces to approximately 100 strategic sites in the West Bank on what it describes as an “execution day.”

The locations are located in Area A, which, under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli army carries out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and towns, often involving arrests, field interrogations and home searches.

Israel was established in 1948 on lands occupied by armed Zionist groups that carried out massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. It later occupied more territories and refused to withdraw or allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.

READ: Trump rebuked Netanyahu over Gaza: ‘All the Jews are sick of you’ – CNN

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingPalestine slams Israeli plan to establish 100 illegal settlement sites in occupied West Bank

Israel declares 115 acres as ‘state land’ to expand illegal West Bank settlement

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Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, during an interview in Tel Aviv, Israel on 5 December, 2024 [Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Wednesday the designation of 465 dunams (115 acres) of land as “state land” to expand the illegal settlement of Givat Haroeh, built on lands in the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate in the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich wrote on the US social media company X that “465 dunams have been declared state land for the purpose of expanding Givat Haroeh settlement.”

He added that “we continue to build, expand, and strengthen effective sovereignty on the ground,” claiming the move would “strengthen Israelis’ security.”

Smotrich also reiterated his opposition to Palestinian statehood. “During my term, a Palestinian state will not be established,” he wrote.

READ: Israeli Cabinet minister brags about demolishing 5,700 Palestinians homes in 1 year, vows to demolish more

Israeli Channel 7 reported that the declaration follows the security cabinet’s approval in February 2023 to recognize Givat Haroeh as an “independent settlement.”

It said authorities are currently advancing an initial construction plan for the settlement that includes more than 900 housing units.

In February, the Israeli government approved a decision allowing it to begin seizing large areas of Palestinian land in the West Bank by registering them as “state property” for the first time since 1967.

The UN has repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law, warning that they undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

Palestinians insist on East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s 1967 occupation or its 1980 annexation of the city.

READ: Israeli forces continue land levelling in West Bank for planned military camp

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Continue ReadingIsrael declares 115 acres as ‘state land’ to expand illegal West Bank settlement

Ben-Gvir criticises ICC and vows further escalation

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Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stands at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, ahead of an address by the US president in Jerusalem on October 13, 2025. [Chip Somodevilla / POOL / AFP/ Getty Images]

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attacked the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday and vowed to continue escalating measures against Palestinians, following reports that the court is considering issuing an international arrest warrant against him.

Earlier on Monday, British news website Middle East Eye reported that a request had been submitted to the ICC seeking a secret arrest warrant for Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The website did not identify the party that submitted the request. Neither the ICC nor the Israeli government had issued an official comment as of 20:00 GMT.

In a statement, Ben-Gvir said: “I am not afraid and I will not back down. No order from The Hague will stop me from continuing to lead an aggressive policy against terrorists.”

He claimed the court was “protecting terrorists and trying to restrict Israel”, adding: “I will continue to fully support Israeli fighters and act firmly for the security of our citizens. I will not apologise and I will not stop.”

Palestinian and international rights groups have increasingly called for an arrest warrant against Ben-Gvir over what they describe as repeated incitement against Palestinian prisoners, including his backing of a Knesset law seeking the execution of prisoners.

READ: Bennett and Eisenkot hold talks amid efforts to unseat Netanyahu government

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.

Continue ReadingBen-Gvir criticises ICC and vows further escalation