Palestinian Territories, Ramallah: Israel’s recent approval of 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank was denounced by the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday, accusing it of strengthening its grip over Palestinian territory. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, declared on Sunday that the settlements had been approved by the government, claiming the action was intended to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian foreign ministry in Ramallah condemned the approval as a “dangerous step aimed at tightening colonial control over the entirety of Palestinian land” and a continuation of “apartheid, settlement, and annexation policies that undermine the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
According to a statement, “the decision offers political cover for accelerating the looting of Palestinian lands, expanding settlement infrastructure… alongside an escalating pace of settler terrorism against members of our people and their properties.”
According to Smotrich’s office, the most recent action takes the total number of settlements authorized over the previous three years to 69. Except east Jerusalem, which Israel captured and annexed in 1967, the West Bank is home to about 500,000 Israelis and roughly three million Palestinians.
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