Israel granted legal approval to five settlements in the occupied West Bank overnight in what the country’s firebrand finance minister described as a response to the recognition of Palestinian statehood by several European nations. “We announced a month ago that for any country that unilaterally recognizes a Palestinian state, we will establish a settlement in Judea and Samaria in its name. Five countries made this mistake, we have now established five settlements,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
Quick Read
- New Settlements Approved: Israel approved five new settlements in the West Bank as a response to recent recognitions of Palestinian statehood by European nations.
- Motivation: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated the move was in retaliation for unilateral recognition by Norway, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Armenia.
- International Reaction: The decision drew criticism from peace groups and countries like Jordan, which called it a violation of international law.
- Settlement Context: The settlements were formerly unauthorized outposts, now legalized under the current government, and have been contentious in international discourse.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israel OKs 5 new W. Bank settlements in response to several European nations recognizing a Palestinian state
Newslooks- JERUSALEM — (AP)
Israel granted legal approval to five settlements in the occupied West Bank overnight in what the country’s firebrand finance minister described as a response to the recognition of Palestinian statehood by several European nations.
“We announced a month ago that for any country that unilaterally recognizes a Palestinian state, we will establish a settlement in Judea and Samaria in its name. Five countries made this mistake, we have now established five settlements,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
The statement from Smotrich’s office said that Israel’s security cabinet made the decision to legalize the settlements of Evyatar, Sde Ephraim, Givat Assaf, Chaletz and Adorim. All began as outposts, small farms built illegally by ultranationalist Jewish settlers — some on private Palestinian land. Outposts have proliferated under Israel’s current far-right government.
Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the newly approved settlements are inhabited by one to a few dozen families each.
Norway, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Armenia all recognized a Palestinian state during the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli media reported that the security cabinet also approved a number of measures sanctioning the Palestinian Authority, which governs semi-autonomous zones in the West Bank.
Hamas denounced the move as the realization of “extremist plans by Smotrich to dominate the West Bank.”
Jordan’s foreign ministry said the cabinet’s decision “flagrantly violates international law.”
Settlement critics describe a wink-and-nod policy toward outposts traced back to efforts by successive governments to deflect international pressure. At least one that was legalized overnight — Eviatar — was evacuated by the Israeli government in 2021 but reinhabited by hard-line ultranationalist Jewish settlers last year.
Most of the international community considers all Israeli settlements — home to some 700,000 people in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem — as a violation of international law.
Israel says rockets and drones launched from Lebanon, and military strikes Hezbollah targets in response
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Friday that about 25 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel, damaging a building and setting fires as tensions between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah threaten to spiral into a full-blown war.
Israeli artillery bombarded the sources of the rocket fire, and the military said Israeli warplanes also struck what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Jabal Safi, north of the city of Nabatieh.
Israel’s air defense system also failed to intercept three drones from Lebanon that flew into Israeli airspace, the military said. Firefighters were dispatched in the north to try to extinguish the blazes.
The cross-border fire came as Israel’s defense minister told troops on the northern border that he still sought a diplomatic agreement to calm tensions along the border but that the military was prepared to fight.
“We are not looking for war but we are ready for it,” Yoav Gallant said. He said that if Hezbollah “chooses to go to war, we will know what to do.”
Also Friday, Jordan’s foreign ministry told its citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon. The U.S. has brought an assault ship, the USS Wasp, into the eastern Mediterranean Sea this week to try to keep fighting between Israel and Hezbollah from escalating.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the war against Hamas in Gaza began in early October. The fighting has been gradually intensifying in recent weeks. Hezbollah says its attacks aim to pressure Israel to halt the war in Gaza. Hezbollah says it won’t agree to a cease-fire on the Israel-Lebanon border before there’s one in Gaza.
The Israeli army said last week that it has “approved and validated” plans for an offensive in Lebanon, although any decision would come from the country’s political leaders.
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