Israel announces new West Bank settlements despite sanctions threat

Reuters · last updated May 30, 2025 – 12:00 PM

Israel’s government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, its finance minister said on Thursday, a move condemned by Israeli human rights groups that may strain ties with key allies that have threatened sanctions.

Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition who has long advocated for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the settlements would be located in the northern West Bank, without specifying exactly where.

here today, more tomorrow

We’ve launched briefing.center with a focus on the press and media.

And we’ve added Citizen Cartwright, a daily quick-read news summary by veteran Washington journalist Linda Cartwright. We’ve also created a new voting rights knowledge center for Citizen Cartwright subscribers. (You can sign up for a dedicated morning email at citizencartwright.com.)

You can sign up here for full access to press and media and Citizen Cartwright on briefing.center.

You can use briefing.center as the center of your information management, or just one of your tools. We’re happy to discuss your information needs.