News / Palestine

Israel approves 126 illegal units in West Bank settlement evacuated in 2005

Wednesday, 24 December 2025 5:00 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 24 December 2025 5:00 PM ]

A view of Israeli settlement of Har Homa in the occupied East al-Quds, with the West Bank city of Bethlehem in the background on right. (File photo)

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered the construction of 126 settler units in Sanur, a former settlement in the northern occupied West Bank, defying longstanding international condemnation.

Israeli media reported on Wednesday that Smotrich instructed the body responsible for approving illegal settlement expansion to convene a meeting to discuss and approve the new units at Sanur, a settlement in the Jenin Governorate that was evacuated in 2005.

In a statement late Tuesday, he said the plan would include commercial areas, paved roads, and zones for schools and kindergartens.

Smotrich visited Sanur in August with a group of extremist settlers, two decades after the settlement was evacuated in 2005.

Israeli outlets reported that his visit was intended to pave the way for its reconstruction.

The decision follows the Israeli "security cabinet’s" recent approval of a "highly controversial" project of 19 new settlements in the West Bank.

Earlier this year, Israel repealed the so-called Disengagement Law, allowing settlers to return to the settlements of Sanur, Ganim, and Kadim near Jenin and Nablus.

In September, Smotrich announced plans to annex more than 80 percent of the occupied West Bank, describing the move as a “preventative step” against countries recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Hawkish Israeli ministers push West Bank annexation amid Western recognition of Palestine

The furious reaction by Israeli ministers comes after Britain, Canada, and Australia formally recognized the state of Palestine.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Violence has surged across the region since the regime's genocidal war began on Gaza in October 2023.

In the last two years, nearly 1,102 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, and nearly 11,000 others have been injured in attacks by the Israeli military and settlers.

Around 21,000 people have also been abducted by the occupying regime’s forces.

Rights organizations have been warning that Palestinians in the West Bank face a growing threat of ethnic cleansing amid the continuing violence.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s prolonged occupation of historic Palestine was unlawful and called for the removal of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir