JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cabinet approved a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($434 million) for establishing 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday, adding to tensions over territory widely viewed as central to a potential Palestinian state.
U.N. bodies, Palestinians and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international conventions - a stance disputed by Israel - and a primary obstacle to peace.
Smotrich, who has long opposed Palestinian statehood, is head of the Religious Zionism party that draws much of its support from settlements and is running in the upcoming legislative election on October 27.
