Israel’s Security Cabinet announces legalization of nine West Bank settlements
Israel’s Security Cabinet on Sunday announced its unanimous decision to legalize nine communities located in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.
The decision was made in response to recent terror attacks in Jerusalem, which has left a total of nine Israelis dead, and many injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week emphasized the government's resolve to crack down harder on terrorism.
“I say this again because this is our policy: The appropriate answer to terrorism is to strike it hard and deepen our roots in our country even more.”
Netanyahu claims the expansion of anti-terrorist measures is not to inflict “collective punishment,” as some accuse Israel of doing, but to “take focused action against terrorists.”
Axios reported that these settlements are the first of such “outposts” to be legalized by Israel since 2012 and that the decision will likely be a point of conflict between Netanyahu’s government and U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration:
“Israeli and U.S. officials said the Biden administration expressed strong opposition to the Israelis in private in the days leading to the Cabinet decision," according to Axios.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
