The Israeli government approved steps proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last week aimed at “legalizing” settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and imposing sanctions on the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

Palestine has requested an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to discuss Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and settlement expansion in the West Bank.

“The meeting will be held at the level of permanent delegates this week to discuss confronting the Israeli crimes of genocide and colonial expansion in the West Bank,” Palestine’s permanent representative to the Arab League, Mohannad al-Aklouk reportedly told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

There was no confirmation of the meeting by the pan-Arab organization, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Smotrich’s Plan Approved

On Thursday, the Israeli government approved steps proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich aimed at “legalizing” settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and imposing sanctions on the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

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The plan includes measures against the Palestinian Authority, the legalization of five settlement outposts in the West Bank, and the issuance of tenders for thousands of new housing units in settlements.

Additionally, the plan involves revoking permits and benefits for Palestinian officials, restricting their movement, and preventing senior officials from leaving the country.

Furthermore, it includes removing executive powers from the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the southern West Bank, enforcing laws against unauthorized construction, and protecting heritage sites and environmental areas.

Settlement outposts are small communities established by illegal Jewish settlers on privately owned Palestinian land without approval from the Israeli government.

International law regards both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.

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Ongoing Tensions

Tensions have escalated across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its military offensive against the Gaza Strip on October 7 which has resulted in the deaths of 37,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

At least 554 Palestinians have since been killed including 133 children and nearly 5,300 injured by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Forced Displacement

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

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The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

(Anadolu, PC)