JERUSALEM: Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
They would include new settlements and the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small hilltop outposts to fully developed communities with apartment blocks, shopping malls, factories and public parks.
The West Bank is home to 3 million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship.
Israel has accelerated the construction of settlements in recent years, even before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians view settlement expansion as one of the main obstacles to resolving the conflict, and most of the international community considers the settlements to be illegal.