Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday welcomed a recent decision to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank that the Palestinians and most of the international community view as illegal.
During a visit to the settlement of Elkana, he cast the expansion of settlements as a response to recent Palestinian violence. The Palestinians view settlement construction as the main obstacle to peace because it further undermines their hopes for an independent state on lands Israel seized through war.
"In the face of enemy violence, the Zionist answer has always been a settlement, security, and immigration," Bennett said. "Last week we approved here in Elkana, to my understanding, the largest volume of construction at once, since the establishment of the town."