[HIGHLIGHTS] Israel defies international pressure and pledges to continue expanding settlements in the West Bank

Israel defies international pressure and pledges to continue expanding settlements in the West Bank. Late yesterday, Tuesday, Smotrich announced approval for the construction of a new settlement called “Mishmar Yehuda” in “Gush Etzion,” a group of Jewish settlements located south of Jerusalem.

Last week, Israeli ministers agreed to a planning council meeting to approve theConstruction of about 3,300 homes in the settlements, a decision that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered “disappointing Washington.”