Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — head of the far-right Religious Zionism party and a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition — has vowed to “build and settle” on the occupied West Bank.

According to Al Jazeera, Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from their neighbouring communities.

The settlements will ultimately be recognised as independent, Smotrich posted on X about the move, which follows the approval of tens of thousands of housing units across Palestinian territory.

“Instead of hiding and apologising — we raise the flag, build and settle,” he said.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticised the approval of the separation of the neighbourhoods and their recognition as independent settlements as disregarding international legitimacy and resolutions, Al Jazeera noted.