Israel signs $2.3B deal to expand illegal settlements in occupied West Bank with 12,000 new homes

Israel signed an 8.5 billion-shekel ($2.3 billion) framework agreement to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the construction of 12,000 new housing units and major infrastructure projects, according to Israeli media.

Israel’s Channel 14 described the agreement as a “giant” step aimed at expanding illegal settlements and “changing the face of the region.”

The agreement was signed at an official ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Land Authority Director General Yehuda Eliyahu and Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, which oversees numerous Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank.

The report said the agreement would “give significant momentum” to the expansion process of illegal settlements in the region and the modernisation of their infrastructure.