Budget dedicates billions for West Bank roads, settlements and illegal outposts

The state budget passed in the early hours of Wednesday morning will invest several billion shekels in West Bank settlements and transportation infrastructure, further entrenching Israel’s presence in the disputed territory.

The large majority of that sum will go to paving new roads and upgrading existing ones, including highways to bypass Palestinian population centers, as part of commitments made by coalition party Religious Zionism to its settler electorate.

But hundreds of millions of shekels will also be directed toward numerous other projects in the settlements, including earmarks for illegal settlements which have never received government authorization. READ MORE