Israel inaugurated a new settlement named “Ma’aleh Arugot” on Wednesday evening within the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the southern occupied West Bank, in the presence of several ministers and Knesset members, according to Israel’s Channel 7.
The channel reported that “Ma’aleh Arugot” is the third settlement to be inaugurated within a week, noting that it was established along an axis connecting the western and eastern parts of the Gush Etzion bloc.
The report quoted the Gush Etzion Regional Council as saying that the establishment of the settlement aims to strengthen the settler presence in the area and create territorial continuity between parts of the bloc.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister Zeev Elkin, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth, and Gush Etzion Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal attended the inauguration ceremony.
On Monday, Israel inaugurated two other settlements. The first, named “Makida,” or “Doran,” was established northwest of Hebron, while the second, named “Noa,” was established south of the settlements of Ganim and Kadim, which were built on Palestinian land southeast of Jenin in the northern West Bank.
The Gush Etzion settlement bloc is located in the southern West Bank between the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron and is considered one of the region’s most prominent Israeli settlement blocs.
The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has witnessed an expansion of settlement activity since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was formed in late 2022. The international community and the United Nations consider Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal under international law.
According to Palestinian data, more than 750,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem, distributed across more than 141 settlements and 224 outposts.
Source: WAFA
