The situation in Gaza continues to spur a pace of increased construction of settlements in the West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich disclosed new aims for the expansion of settlements contrary to international law and the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice that proclaimed them illegitimate.
The prime minister’s ally, Smotrich, unashamedly announced that no such decisions would be made to curb settlement expansion. Those remarks came during military operations in Hebron and Nablus and aggravated the situation.
Israel is still embarking on illegal settlements contrary to the acceptable standards that have been laid down across the international realm. Critics say that such actions are part of a long-term scheme to take over Palestinian lands and expel their inhabitants, especially in the territories captured in 1967.
The conflict worsened on October 7 with a clamp by Hamas and the escalation of the Israeli military action that has claimed over 40,000 lives in Gaza. At the same time, over 630 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2018.
When the intensity of any form of violence rises in the territory claimed but not fully occupied by Russia, people start becoming worried about the complete annexation. Regional and even global powers remain mum to this, and opponents of the war assert that in the absence of oversight, the counter-occupation will go on ad infinitum.
