Israel plans to build thousands of new homes in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in response to a fatal shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen, a senior cabinet minister said. At a time of growing tension over the course of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Friday that the Biden administration was disappointed by the announcement of new homes in the settlements, which he called “inconsistent with international law.”
Israel’s finance minister, far-right firebrand Bezalel Smotrich, announced the new settlement plans late Thursday, after three Palestinian gunmen opened fire on cars near the Maale Adumim settlement, killing one Israeli and wounding five, according to Israeli police.
“The serious attack on Ma’ale Adumim must have a determined security response but also a settlement response,” Smotrich wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I demand that the Prime Minister approves the convening of the [Central Planning Bureau] and immediately approves plans for thousands of housing units in Ma’ale Adumim and the entire region. Our enemies should know that any harm to us will lead to more construction and more development and more of our hold all over the country.”
Hamas issued a statement lauding “the heroic operation south of occupied Jerusalem,” calling the attack near the West Bank checkpoint “a natural response to the occupation’s massacres and crimes in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.”
Support for Hamas in the West Bank has increased significantly since the war in Gaza began, and that devastating war appeared nowhere near easing on Thursday.
Read more at CBSNEWS.com
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