Indonesia strongly condemns Israel’s decision to legalize five Jewish settlement posts in the West Bank, Palestine.
In a statement released through its X account on July 1, 2024, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said that Israel’s settlement and continuous occupation in Palestine’s territory are a violation to international law and relevant United Nations (UN) resolutions.
As reported by CNN, the Israeli government has been looking to “strengthen” Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank after a supermajority in the UN membership
recognized the State of Palestine as a sovereign state.
Spokesperson for Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, told CNN that the Israeli government had agreed in a late-night cabinet to recognize five Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that were built illegally and that Smotrich will release tax funds to the Palestinian Authority that Israel collects on its behalf.
In a statement to CNN on Sunday, June 30, 2024, Smotrich’s office said the decision to release funds to the Palestinian Authority was “immediate” and would cover the past three months. Funds have been frozen following the October 7, 2023 attacks.
CNN reached out to the Prime Minister’s office, which has not yet publicly commented on the reports. Once authorized, settlements become more like parts of Israel, with access to water, electricity and medical care.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers some areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, told CNN on Sunday that it has not yet received the funds from Israel.
“So far, no money or official messages from the Israeli side have been received,” an official source in the Palestinian Authority said.
Smotrich is a leading far-right member of the Israeli cabinet and opposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
He has long advocated for the building of settlements, pointing to them as a means of preventing the West Bank becoming part of such an independent state.
“The goal is to change the DNA of the system for many, many years,” Smotrich said, according to leaked audio from a speech he made earlier this month.
