Israel allocated 152 million shekels ($51 million) to prepare construction plans for 69 illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said on Thursday, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu.

The allocation was made during a phone vote by ministers last week, the group said in a statement, adding that the government is also preparing a draft resolution to allocate more than 1 billion shekels ($337 million) to establish new illegal settlements and outposts in the West Bank.

Peace Now said the decision allocates the funds to the Housing Ministry to complete initial planning procedures for the settlements legalized by the government between 2023 and 2025, along with preparing plans to expand settlement building in the West Bank.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the report.

A separate report by Axios said the Israeli Cabinet is expected to approve a plan for funding the de facto establishment of 61 new settlements in the West Bank.

The report said that the government is expected to spend over $350 million across several years to establish 61 newly approved settlements. The plan would finance temporary housing sites, public buildings, and infrastructure even before formal planning is completed, representing one of the largest settlement expansions in decades.

Many of the settlements are in strategically sensitive areas such as the Jordan Valley along Highway 90, the South Hebron Hills, and locations intended to create territorial continuity between existing settlements. “Such a move further undermines the prospect of a future Palestinian state,” the report said.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev