With Smotrich's Support.. Israel Seizes 465 Dunams for an Israeli Settlement Near Ramallah

SadaNews Translation - The Hebrew Channel 7 revealed on Wednesday that it has been decided by the relevant Israeli authorities to declare 465 dunams in an area near Ramallah as "state" land (i.e., to seize it for its own use).

The channel indicated that this step is expected to allow for a significant expansion of the Givat HaReil outpost, also known as Givat HaRoah, which was officially recognized as a settlement by the cabinet in February 2023.

According to the Hebrew channel, as translated by SadaNews, since the issuance of the decision, progress has been made in the procedures to legalize the settlement status, including expanding the jurisdiction signed by the commander of the Israeli army's Central Command, Avi Blot, and designating a code for the settlement by the Ministry of Interior, now adding the declaration of the land within it and its surroundings as "state land," which allows for continued planning development in the area.

The outpost is situated on private Palestinian lands near the town of Sinjil, close to Ramallah.

Currently, a preliminary construction plan for the settlement is being promoted, which includes more than 900 housing units.

This move is part of a policy led by Finance Minister and Minister of Settlement in the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich, to encourage settlement in the West Bank, which includes the approval of more than 100 new settlements, tens of thousands of housing units, and tens of thousands of dunams of state land, among other settlement steps, according to the channel, as SadaNews translated.

Smotrich commented on the decision: "We are continuing the work here that we started years ago, and the announcement we made today serves as a tremendous lever for the growth and development of the settlements."

He added: "In the face of leftist plans to evacuate the settlements, we are fighting a Palestinian state that we will never allow to be established... this is another stick aimed at obstructing the establishment of a Palestinian state and reinforcing actual sovereignty."