The Israeli Security Council approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank from their neighboring communities, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotric said Sunday.

The settlements will then be recognized as independent, according to a post on X on the plan, which follows the approval of tens of thousands of houses on the West Bank.

“We continue to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologizing – we raise the flag, we build and install. This is another important step in the process of real dominance in Judea and Samaria, “Smotric said, using the term Israel on the West Bank.

Israel’s refusal to assign control of the West Bank has been reinforced by his fears for a possible repetition of the attack of 7 October 2023 by Fighters under Hamas. The Israeli army says it is conducting anti -terrorist operations on the West Bank and targeting suspicious fighters.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized the approval of the separation of Jewish settlements and their recognition as independent settlements, describing Israel’s initiative as indifference to international legality and related resolutions.

Hamas also condemned the decision, describing it as a “desperate attempt to impose in the field and consolidation of colonial occupation in the Palestinian territories”.

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among the 2.7 million Palestinians on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967 during the six -day war.

Most countries consider Israel’s settlements illegal in territories seized in the war, but Tel Aviv disputes their position, citing historical and biblical ties with these territories.

Israeli politicians in favor of colonization have been courageous from returning to Donald Trump’s White House.

Smotric, head of the far -right party religious Zionism and a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government coalition, has been calling for years to establish Israeli sovereignty on the West Bank.

He noted that so far the 13 settlements were officially considered part of their parent communities, in some cases decades here, which, he said, caused significant difficulties in their daily management.

“Recognizing each of them as independent settlements is an important step that will greatly help their progress and development,” Smotric said.