Israel plans biggest West Bank settlement expansion in decades (VIDEO)

Israel has earmarked broad swathes of the West Bank for scores of new settlements, a move that could isolate Palestinian villages and tighten West Jerusalem's grip on the territory. The Israeli government has accelerated its push to annex larger portions of the West Bank in recent years, accompanied by escalating settler violence. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's far-right finance minister and West Bank settler, is backing the land grab. According to draft plans reported last week, Israel is expected to allocate more than $350 million over several years to establish 61 settlements across the West Bank. The push is creating a fear amongst Palestinians that villages will be cut off from each other, they will be entirely isolated and that would give the Israelis more control over this land. With demolitions in West Bank villages increasing in recent years, local Palestinians fear further displacement, fragmentation of the local society, and restrictions on movement. Walls, roads between Israeli settlements, and IDF checkpoints are expected to accompany the push, crushing the nascent dream of establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank.

(Source：Rt)