Israel’s Security Cabinet has quietly approved the establishment of 22 new settlements in the West Bank, including the reestablishment of Homesh and Sa-Nur—two outposts evacuated during the 2005 disengagement from Gaza. The decision was made following a joint initiative by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
According to details obtained by Ynet, the approved list includes: Adi Ad, Ahiya, Nofei Prat, Atarot Adar, Inbar and Beit Horon North in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council; Kedem Arava in the Megilot Dead Sea Council; Machane Gadi, Ir Hatmarim, Gevaonit, and Tabbat in the Jordan Valley Regional Council; Mitzpe Ziv, El Naveh, and another Kedem Arava in the South Hebron Hills; and in the Shomron Regional Council: Havat Yair, Ma'oz Zvi, Ma'alot Halhul, Afeka, Yonadav, Rehavam and Mount Ebal. Most of the settlement names are provisional.
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Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on a joint tour of Judea and Samaria
(Photo: Elad Malka, Shira Keinan, Ministry of Defense)
The move follows another decision two weeks ago to officially resume Israel's land registration procedures in Area C of the West Bank - which is under full Israeli control, and to counter what it described as "unauthorized land settlement efforts" by the Palestinian Authority. That earlier resolution stated that any land registration activities undertaken by the Palestinian Authority in Area C lack legal standing and would not be recognized in any official Israeli proceeding.
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The Cabinet instructed the defense establishment to prevent further Palestinian land registration, including blocking the entry of professionals, halting foreign assistance to the process, and directly demanding the Palestinian Authority cease such activity.