Israeli finance minister says settlement 'revolution' has only just begun

Israel's finance minister says the government has begun a "settlement revolution" that will eventually extend to the Negev and Galilee.

"I've got news for you: We've only just begun the revolution in settlement. We'll get to the Negev and the Galilee too," Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X.

His comments came two days after Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan to establish 13 new Israeli settlements in the central occupied West Bank.

Palestinian officials said the move would further isolate occupied East Jerusalem from surrounding Palestinian communities.

The new settlements will be located in strategically important areas.