TEL AVIV, May 29. /TASS/. The Israeli government has authorized the construction of 22 new settlements in the West Bank as part of a joint initiative by Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.

The paper noted that the plan includes the return of residential activity to previously evacuated areas and the creation of four new settlements along the border near Jordan. The government's decision is intended to expand settlement infrastructure and reinforce Israel’s strategic position across the region. Among the goals is also the revival of settlement activity in the northern part of the West Bank, the newspaper specified.

According to the Peace Now human rights organization, which monitors Israeli settlement activity, in the first quarter of 2025 alone, Israeli authorities greenlit the construction of more than 10,000 housing units in West Bank settlements, which is more than in all of 2024.

Israel's ongoing construction in the West Bank is considered one of the main barriers to resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In December 2016, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2334 demanding that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel responded by stating that it would not comply with the provisions of this document.