Israel cabinet to approve $338M for 61 West Bank settlements

The Israeli cabinet is expected to vote on Thursday, June 11, on a plan to allocate over one billion shekels, approximately 338 million dollars, to establish dozens of new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The funding would support the development of 61 settlements that have already been authorized by the government over the past three years but are not yet fully built.

According to reports citing a draft government resolution, the plan would finance temporary housing complexes, public buildings, and critical infrastructure such as access roads, water connections, and sewage systems. This funding would allow construction to begin even before formal planning procedures are completed, a step described as bypassing the standard settlement planning process. The initiative is being promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of settlement expansion who has stated his aim to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood.

A separate, smaller allocation of roughly 51 million dollars was reportedly approved by ministers last week to fund initial planning procedures for 69 settlements and outposts. The larger vote scheduled for Thursday would move these projects from planning...