Israel approves $434 million budget for 12,000 new West Bank homes

Israel’s security cabinet authorized a budget of 1.3 billion shekels (about $434 million) to create 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including construction of 12,000 new homes and an additional 8 billion shekels for infrastructure. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the decision historic and thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his support. Hamas denounced the plan, calling it “a dangerous and criminal project of Judaization” and saying it amounts to ethnic cleansing aimed at annexing the territory. The United Nations, most countries and the International community regard the settlements as illegal under international law and a major obstacle to a two‑state solution. About 700,000 Israeli settlers now live among roughly 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and settler‑related violence has risen in recent months.