Israel is preparing to build 3,500 new settlements in the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the Israeli government's intention to continue the settlement policy in the Palestinian territories.
The decision to build these new units was taken following the shooting that took place near the Al-Zaim checkpoint east of Jerusalem last February, which resulted in the death of an Israeli. The United Nations and most of the international community consider settlement in the territories occupied in 1967 illegal, and Israel calls to stop it to no avail.