Israeli defense minister says government approved 104 illegal settlements in the West Bank since 2022

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that his government has approved the establishment of 104 illegal settlements and around 160 settlement farms in the occupied West Bank since it was formed in November 2022, Israel’s Channel 7 reported. Speaking during a meeting with leaders of the ruling Likud party in Jerusalem, Katz said the government had taken “a series of important decisions regarding settlement expansion in Judea and Samaria,” using Israel’s term for the West Bank. “We are not only strengthening security, but also strengthening settlement,” Katz said. “The government approved the establishment of 104 new settlements in Judea and Samaria, along with nearly 160 new farms,” he added. Katz described the move as “an unprecedented step that reflects […]