Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Wednesday that Israel has given final approval to build 764 housing units in three settlements in the occupied West Bank. Smotrich, who belongs to the far-right and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, said that since he took office in late 2022, the Higher Planning Council has approved about 51,370 housing units in the West Bank, which are lands the Palestinians seek to establish a future state on. Smotrich said in a statement, "We are continuing the revolution," adding that the recent approval of housing units "is part of a clear strategic process to strengthen the settlements and ensure the continuity of life, security, and growth... and a real interest in the future of the State of Israel." The units will be distributed between Gush Etzion, Givat Ze'ev, and Beitar Illit near Jerusalem. Most world powers consider settlements on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 war illegal, and many resolutions from the UN Security Council have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity. Wasel Abu Yusef, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee, told Reuters: "For us, all settlement is illegal and it is to be removed and it violates all international legitimacy resolutions."
