Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks to journalists during a press conference about new settlement construction, near Maale Adumum in the West Bank on Aug. 14, 2025. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Israel’s government has finalized the legalization of 19 previously unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank, undoing the evacuation of several Israeli settlements 20 years ago.
The move was announced on Dec. 21 by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who described the decision as correcting what he called a historic “injustice” for those striving for a Zionist cause and as a step to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.
