Israel approved Wednesday the construction of a new Israeli settlement at a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said.
Smotrich noted the plan is for the Nahal Heletz settlement, located in the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem. "No anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist decision will stop the further development of the settlement. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state and establish facts on the ground. This is my life's mission and I will continue it as much as I can," he mentioned. According to The Times of Israel this would be the first settlement approved since 2017.
Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are deemed illegal, but Israel continues expanding them. The anti-settlement group Peace Now criticized the move, warning that it threatens the area's cultural heritage.
