Israel OK's Plans for Thousands of New Settlement Homes, Defying White House

This file photo shows a part of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023.
This file photo shows a part of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023.
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Israel OK's Plans for Thousands of New Settlement Homes, Defying White House

This file photo shows a part of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023.
This file photo shows a part of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023.

Israel’s far-right government on Monday approved plans to build thousands of new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank — a move that threatened to worsen increasingly strained relations with the United States.

The decision defied growing US criticism of Israel’s settlement policies. It also raised tensions with the Palestinians at a time of rising violence in the occupied territory.

Multiple Israeli media outlets said the Defense Ministry planning committee that oversees settlement construction approved over 5,000 new settlement homes. The units are at various stages of planning, and it was not immediately clear when construction would begin. The ministry did not immediately comment.

The international community, along with the Palestinians, considers settlement construction illegal or illegitimate and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state.

“The Netanyahu government is moving forward with its aggression and open war against the Palestinian people,” said Wassel Abu Yousef, a Palestinian official in the West Bank. “We affirm that all settler colonialism in all the occupied Palestinian territories is illegitimate and illegal.”

Israel’s government, which took office in late December, is dominated by religious and ultranationalist politicians with close ties to the settlement movement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a firebrand settler leader, has been granted Cabinet-level authority over settlement policies and has vowed to double the settler population in the West Bank.

The Biden Administration has been increasingly outspoken in its criticism of Israel’s settlement policies. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the settlements “an obstacle to the horizon of hope we seek” in a speech to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.

Despite the criticism, the US has taken little action against Israel. In a sign of its displeasure, the White House has not yet invited Netanyahu for a visit – as is customary following Israeli elections.

And this week, the US said it would not transfer funds to Israeli institutions for science and technology research projects in the West Bank. The decision restored a longstanding policy that had been canceled by the pro-settlement Trump administration.

Ahead of Monday's vote, Israeli Cabinet Minister Issac Wasserlauf, a member of the far-right Jewish Power party, played down the disagreements with the US.

“I think the alliance with the US will remain,” he told the Army Radio station. “There are disagreements, we knew how to deal with them in the past.”

Simcha Rothman, another far-right member of the governing coalition, accused the Biden Administration of having a “pathological obsession” with the Israeli government.

Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s 75-year history, has made settlement expansion its top priority.

Senior members have been pushing for increased construction and other measures to cement Israel’s control over the territory in response to a more than year-long wave of violence with the Palestinians. Last week, four Israelis were killed by a pair of Palestinian gunmen who opened fire next to a Jewish settlement.

Israel expanded its military activity in the West Bank in early 2022 in response to a series of deadly Palestinian attacks. Over 135 Palestinians have been killed in fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year. Roughly half of them were affiliated with armed groups, though Israel says that number is much higher. But Palestinian stone-throwers and people uninvolved in violence were also killed. Some 24 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians claim all three territories for a future independent state.

Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital – a claim that is not internationally recognized. It says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be determined through negotiations, while Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Two years later, the Hamas movement overran the territory.



Türkiye Intensifies Steps to Establish Air Base East of Homs

Turkish-made Hisar air defense system (Turkish Defense Industries website). 
Turkish-made Hisar air defense system (Turkish Defense Industries website). 
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Türkiye Intensifies Steps to Establish Air Base East of Homs

Turkish-made Hisar air defense system (Turkish Defense Industries website). 
Turkish-made Hisar air defense system (Turkish Defense Industries website). 

Türkiye is accelerating preparations to establish an airbase in the city of Palmyra, east of Homs, following an announcement by its Ministry of Defense last week that it is considering a request from the Syrian administration in Damascus to set up a base for training purposes.

Reports indicate that Turkish military convoys carrying equipment entered northern Syria overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, likely transporting logistical supplies and gear to the “T4” airbase in Palmyra.

The pro-government Turkish newspaper “Türkiye” reported on Wednesday that the country has taken official steps to take control of the Tiyas Military Airbase—also known as Tiyas Airport, T4 Airbase —located near the village of Tiyas, about 60 kilometers east of Palmyra in Homs province.

According to the report, Türkiye plans to establish a multi-layered air defense system at the base, incorporating domestically produced weapons. Additionally, Ankara intends to deploy reconnaissance drones and armed UAVs with advanced strike capabilities. The goal is to enhance the country’s counterterrorism efforts against ISIS while also deterring potential Israeli airstrikes in the region.

Some sources suggest that Türkiye may also consider deploying the Russian S-400 air defense system, which it acquired in the summer of 2019.

Retired Turkish Brigadier General Fahri Erenel stated that Ankara plans to take significant steps in Syria in April. He mentioned that after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a defense agreement was negotiated with the Syrian interim government. Under this agreement, Türkiye would provide air support and military protection to the new Syrian administration.

Israeli Concerns

Israel is deeply concerned about Türkiye’s growing cooperation with Damascus and its efforts to expand its military presence in Syria.

An Israeli security official, speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, described the potential establishment of a Turkish military base in Syria as a “possible threat” to Israel. The official, whose name was not disclosed, warned that a Turkish airbase in Syria would undermine Israel’s operational freedom and was therefore something Tel Aviv opposed.

On Friday, the Israeli military announced that it had targeted what it described as “strategic military capabilities” at Syrian army bases in Palmyra and the T4 airbase. The Israeli official indicated that the strike on T4 was a message that Israel would not tolerate any obstacles to its air operations in Syria.