JAKARTA - The Israeli government has approved a budget of around 270 million US dollars (Rp 4,707,193,500,000) to build a road connecting illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government approved more than 1 billion shekels (about 270 million US dollars) to build a road connecting new settlements in the occupied territories.
In the first phase, around 3 million shekels (about 1 million US dollars) will be allocated to prepare the plan and complete the initial design work, which will be submitted to the government for approval within 45 days, Haaretz said, quoting a government statement, as reported by Anadolu (5/5).
The statement added that funding for construction work would be provided as an additional allocation from the Ministry of Finance's budget.
However, the statement did not mention the location where the roads would be built.
This decision was taken amid an acceleration of illegal settlement activity since Netanyahu's government took office at the end of 2022, with significant expansion throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
According to Palestinian estimates, around 750,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem, in settlements deemed illegal under international law.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,155 Palestinians in the West Bank, injured around 11,750, and arrested nearly 22,000, according to Palestinian data.
In a landmark ruling in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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