Hamas warns of escalating Israeli settlement expansion in West Bank

GAZA, May 15 (YPA) – Hamas Movement warned on Friday against new Israeli occupation’s settlement expansion plans announced by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, which include the construction of tens of thousands of settlement units across the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, Hamas said the plans, coupled with Smotrich’s calls to erase borders and impose the so-called full Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian land, reflect the “true face” of the Israeli government, accusing it of pursuing policies of colonization, annexation, and apartheid.

The movement stressed that settlement expansion “will not grant legitimacy to the occupation,” affirming that annexation and Judaization projects would not succeed in uprooting Palestinians from their land or weakening their determination.

It called on Palestinians to intensify confrontation with Israeli forces and settlers and strengthen their presence in targeted villages and towns across the West Bank.

The movement’s statement also urged the international community to move beyond what it described as “silence and complicity” and take urgent action to halt settlement expansion and hold Israel accountable for violations against Palestinians and their land.

According to reports cited by Palestinian media, Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party is pushing for the allocation of hundreds of millions of shekels to support new settlement projects recently approved by the Israeli cabinet, amid continued expansion of settlements and infrastructure projects across the occupied West Bank and East AlQuds.