Israel Plans $338 Million Funding Package for West Bank Settlement Infrastructure

JERUSALEM, June 11 (Reuters) – Israel is expected to approve a budget of 1 billion shekels (about $337.8 million) on Thursday to construct new settlement units and connect them to roads, water and sewage systems in the occupied West Bank, according to the anti‑settlement organization Peace Now.

The proposal is being advanced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent advocate of settlement expansion who has expressed opposition to a Palestinian state.

According to the cabinet agenda released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, ministers will discuss the creation of temporary sites that have already received approval in the West Bank. The agenda does not indicate whether additional funding will be authorized, and Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among roughly 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. While Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, most of the international community does not recognize the annexation and considers the settlements illegal under international law. Israel disputes this claim, citing a historic Jewish presence in the area.

Peace Now said the cabinet vote would bypass the usual settlement planning procedures. The organization noted that the settlements in question have already been approved by Netanyahu’s government over the past three years.

Both Peace Now and the news site Axios, referencing a draft resolution, said the funds would cover infrastructure such as access roads, land preparation, sewage, water connections and other related works, as well as temporary residential compounds.

A spokesperson for Finance Minister Smotrich did not provide details but said the vote would reinforce existing settlements, describing them as “not new” but rather extensions of current sites.

Last week, Smotrich announced a major expansion of three West Bank settlements, adding more than 2,000 homes.

Palestinians and many countries view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, arguing that they reduce the land available for a future Palestinian state. The growth of settlements and outposts has been accompanied by an increase in settler‑related violence against Palestinians.

($1 = 2.9602 shekels)

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Kevin Buckland)

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