The declaration of the land as Israeli-owned will allow for the construction of hundreds of settlement housing units, as well as an area designated for industry and commerce.
Activists called the move the largest action of its kind in decades. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, oversaw the move. He said the declaration of the land as state-owned was “an important and strategic issue.
“While there are those in Israel and the world who seek to undermine our right to Judea and Samaria and the country in general, we promote the settlement movement with hard work and in a strategic manner across the country,” he added, using the biblical name for the West Bank. (Read More)
