Far-right Israeli minister reveals plans for 1,000 new settler units after European bans

Far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has disclosed plans for the construction of hundreds of new settler units in the northern side of the occupied West Bank, a day after a dozen nations declared their intention to enforce trade restrictions on products from illegal Israeli settlements.

Smotrich said in a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday that 1,665 dunams (411.5 acres) of Palestinian land had been seized, and annexed to the Kida and Havat settlements in order to build 1,000 new units there.

The 46-year-old head of the Religious Zionism party characterized the measure as “yet another significant milestone in the settlement revolution”

Smotrich stated that the Kida and Havat settlements, after more than 25 years, have finally arrived at a point where the Tel Aviv regime is moving forward with procedures to legalize their status.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in West Bank, withhold his body

Israeli forces shot and killed a 29-year-old Palestinian man amid raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

Kida settlement was established in 2003, while Havat was founded in 2001. Israeli authorities made the decision to officially recognize them as settlements in December and March respectively.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden announced plans to implement trade restrictions on products sourced from Israeli settlements.

About 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds. They routinely carry out attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

The UN regards these settlements as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions because they are built on occupied land. The UN Security Council has banned Israel’s settlement activity in several resolutions.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of historical Palestine illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds. Those rulings, like so many before them, have remained mere words.

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