Israel to approve new funds for illegal settlement expansion in West Bank

Israel is expected to approve on Thursday the allocation of 1 billion shekels ($337.8m) to build new settlements and connect them to infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, Israeli rights group Peace Now said.

The plan is being promoted by Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of Israeli illegal settlement expansion who has said he wants to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood.

In a statement, Peace Now said the cabinet vote would bypass the standard settlement planning process. It said the settlements in question had been approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over the past three years.

Both Peace Now and the news website Axios, citing a draft resolution, said the allocation of funds would include construction of infrastructure such as access roads, land preparation, sewage systems, water connections and related works, as well as temporary residential compounds.