Israel to fund expansion of West Bank settlements

(MENAFN) Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has designated 2.7 billion shekels (approximately $843 million) over the next five years to expand settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, a move described by reports as a form of “de facto annexation.”

The funds are intended for constructing new settlements, opening access roads, enhancing security, and formalizing land records, marking an unprecedented allocation, according to local reporting.

A key element of the plan involves relocating three Israeli army bases to northern West Bank areas, which has been described as a significant step.

“Billions of shekels are intended to reshape the settlements,” the reports noted, with the budget covering military base transfers, infrastructure development for new settlements, access roads, and expanded defense systems.

The five-year package is said to strengthen Israeli governance in the West Bank and effectively amounts to annexation. The plan includes creating “absorption clusters” of 20 mobile homes each, allowing settlers to form new settlement nuclei.

The government will also allocate 300 million shekels ($93.4 million) to all new settlements, including 160 million shekels ($49.8 million) in establishment grants and 140 million shekels ($43.6 million) for operational and organizational activities. Existing settlements will receive 434 million shekels ($135 million) for infrastructure upgrades, with an additional 300 million shekels ($93.4 million) going to regional and local settler councils.

One notable component is the allocation of 225 million shekels ($70 million) to establish a land-registration unit. Previously, West Bank purchases were recorded with the Israeli Civil Administration rather than the official Israeli land registry; the new unit will formalize approximately 60,000 dunams by 2030 using 41 staff members.

The plan also sets aside 140 million shekels ($43.6 million) for access roads, primarily for army needs, and 150 million shekels ($46.6 million) over three years to upgrade armored school buses. Reports indicate that additional funding from the Defense Ministry will cover security measures such as “smart fences, equipment sites, cameras and other systems.”

The reporting described the plan as reshaping Israel’s West Bank approach, creating a reality that future governments may struggle to reverse. Smotrich stated on social media platform X, “Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are Israel’s security belt,” and expressed pride in leading “a revolution that cancels the idea of dividing the land and establishing a terrorist state, strengthening Israel’s security.”

Smotrich has repeatedly pledged to block the creation of a Palestinian state and previously called for Israel to annex roughly 82% of the West Bank. Estimates suggest about 500,000 settlers live in West Bank settlements and another 250,000 in East Jerusalem settlements.

In July last year, the International Court of Justice ruled Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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