Israel Will Not Stop Construction Of Jewish Settlements In The West Bank Although Asked By The US

Illustration of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/Travel 2 Palestine)

JAKARTA - A far-right ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday Israel would not stop the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a week after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressured Israel to halt construction.

"There will be no construction freezes in the▁peringatanon and Samaria," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, using a general term in Israel for the West Bank.

Senior member of Netanyahu's far-right coalition has sought to expand the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and where Palestine has long wanted to establish a country.

Meanwhile, most world powers consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal acts.

On a visit to Israel and Palestinian territory last week, Foreign Minister Blinken repeated US calls for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict between Israel and Palestine, calling for an open end to the expansion of settlements.

In private talks with PM Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Blinken also asked Israel to stop the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and stop the destruction of Palestinian homes, three US and Arab sources confirmed to Reuters, stressing that the request was not declared an official request.

Smotrich is also known to oversee the Ministry of Defense organization responsible for enforcing several regulations in the West Bank, granting him significant power over the region.

It is known, hopes to achieve a two-state solution, with the mostly West Bank-based Palestinian state fading since the final round of US-sponsored talks stalled in 2014.