TEL AVIV, December 12, 2025 (WAFA) – The Israeli Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs (the so-called cabinet) approved last night the establishment of 19 new colonies in the occupied West Bank.

According to a proposal by extremist Israeli army minister Israel Katz and extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the approved colonies include “Ganim” and “Kadim,” which were evacuated in 2005 under the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank.

Israeli media outlets reported on Friday that the colonies approved include older colonies alongside others that are in advanced stages of establishment.

The Nahala movement, a colonial organization, considered the Israeli government’s decision to return to the colonies of Ganim and Kadim an important step, describing it as a clear declaration that “the whole land of Israel is ours.”

It added that, just as the Israeli government has been enabled to restore colonies dismantled in the northern West Bank, it will likewise be enabled to reinstate Jewish colonization in the Gaza Strip.

Smotrich announced a plan to allocate 2.7 billion shekels within the state budget for 2026 to establish 17 new colonies in the West Bank over the next five years.

T.R.