Israel-Palestine

Israel Approves 13 New West Bank Settlements, Advancing Long-Delayed Binyamin Expansion

Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan on July 2 to convert 13 existing outposts into independent settlements in the central occupied West Bank, a move settler leaders describe as a security necessity and Palestinian officials call a deliberate step toward permanent annexation. The approval, reported by Israel's Channel 7 and carried by Al Jazeera, covers the Binyamin regional area, one of the largest settlement blocs in the central West Bank, along Route 60, the main road linking Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. The Times of Israel reported that the decision reclassifies 13 informal outposts, previously unrecognized offshoots of established settlements, into independent settlements with their own local councils, a status that unlocks direct access to state infrastructure funding that informal outposts don't receive. Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, the main settler umbrella organization, framed the decision as a response to Palestinian Authority…