Israel approves 2,162 new settlement homes in occupied West Bank

Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the approval of a plan to build 2,162 new housing units in West Bank settlements. The plan includes 1,006 units in a new settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near Nablus and 234 near Hebron. Smotrich said the construction would strengthen Israel's control, enhance security and create "facts on the ground" that would block the creation of a Palestinian state.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the decision, calling it a push toward greater violence and urging the United States to intervene. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, a view shared by most nations; Smotrich has faced sanctions from the United Kingdom, France and others. The approval follows a recent land‑registration process that enables Israel to declare unproven Palestinian land as state property, and it has been accompanied by demolition notices to Palestinian shops and settler incursions into villages near Nablus and Ramallah. The expansion deepens tensions in the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict and draws further diplomatic criticism.