Tension between Palestine and Israel intensifies, and Israel insists on promoting settlement construction.

　　In the past few days, the tension between Palestine and Israel has intensified, and the exchange of fire between the two sides has continued, causing casualties. Nevertheless, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced on the 21st that the government will authorize the construction of 1,000 new houses in the Eli Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank.

　　△ In May this year, Israel started construction in the Homsh settlement in the West Bank.

　　The day before, a shooting incident occurred near the settlement, killing four Israelis. After the shooting incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Joyaf galante and Finance Minister Bezalel Smout Leah held a meeting and decided to "immediately push forward" this new housing plan.

　　According to the Israel Times, it is unclear whether this move is part of the Israeli government’s existing expansion plan for Jewish settlements in the West Bank. On the 18th, Netanyahu’s government not only announced that it would build 4,560 new houses in the West Bank, but also passed a controversial resolution, giving "almost all" the planning and approval authority for Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank to the far right-wing Smout Lihe.

　　Smout Richer grew up in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Since he became a politician, he has repeatedly made hate speech against Arabs and supported the expansion of Jewish settlements in a high-profile way. In December, 2022, the camp of Likud leader Netanyahu won the general election, which was greatly contributed by Smout Lihe, whose religious Zionist Party was the second largest political party in the ruling coalition after Likud. Smout Leahy was appointed as finance minister by Netanyahu, and was also in charge of "civil affairs" in the West Bank.

　　According to Israeli media analysis, this move will greatly speed up and simplify the procedures for the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and at the same time promote some "illegal" settlements to be "legal". Previously, many stages of land planning approval required the authorization of the Minister of National Defense, but now it is "simplified to only one signature of Smout Richer".

　　The so-called "illegal" settlements refer to Jewish settlement facilities built privately without the authorization of the Israeli government or in violation of relevant Israeli laws and regulations. Such facilities are different from the so-called "legal" settlements authorized by the government. However, the international community generally believes that these two types of Jewish settlement construction are in violation of international law.

　　United Nations Secretary-General Kofi antonio guterres said on the 19th that he was "deeply disturbed" by the Israeli government’s expansion of power for Smout Richter. The United Nations Special Envoy for the Middle East, Thor Venesland, warned that Israel’s decision may aggravate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

　　Public opinion generally believes that the current tension between Palestine and Israel is heating up again, and the Netanyahu government’s move is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire. On the evening of the 21st, the Israel Defense Forces used drones to launch an air strike on a car in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank, killing three Palestinians. According to Palestinian media reports, this is the first time since 2005 that the Israeli army has carried out an "assassination operation" with drones in the West Bank.

　　On the 21st, a large number of Jewish settlers also broke into some Palestinian villages and towns in the West Bank and set fire to them, which clashed with local people.

　　The situation in Palestine and Israel is tense, and neighboring countries express concern. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 21st, condemning the Israeli government’s plan to build 1,000 new houses in the Eli settlement and warning Israel not to further violate international law, otherwise the "two-state solution" "may be buried forever". The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement urging that "the bloodshed must be stopped immediately, rather than undermining the regional and international detente".