Israel approves 567 new illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank

Israeli authorities on Thursday approved the construction of 567 new illegal settlement units in the Asael and Beit Hagai settlements in the Hebron governorate of the southern occupied West Bank, according to media reports.

According to local media, the Israeli Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Council approved a plan to build 342 settlement units in Asael and 225 in Beit Hagai.

The plan for Asael, drafted in 2001 and home to around 100 Israeli families, was approved without further detail, the channel said.

In Beit Hagai, founded in 1983, the construction of 225 new units would double the size of the settlement in the coming years, it added.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spearheaded the move, describing the advancement of plans in both settlements as “very important news for the settlement.”

“We are doubling Beit Hagai — not with words, but with deeds,” he said.

Eliram Azoulay, head of the Hebron Hills Regional Council, also described the approval as “historic news for the settlements,” saying they would work to accelerate construction and expand the settlements.

Around 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

The UN considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal under international law and has repeatedly warned that settlement activity undermines the prospect of implementing the two-state solution.

The occupied West Bank has seen an escalation of Israeli raids and arrests since October 2023, alongside a rise in settler attacks, movement restrictions and closures of entrances to Palestinian towns and villages.