Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli occupation authorities revealed on Thursday a controversial plan to rebuild the "Sanur" settlement in the occupied West Bank, nearly twenty years after it was evacuated. The move is part of a broader strategy to expand illegal settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent figure in the far-right bloc of the current Israeli government, made the announcement during a visit to the site of the former settlement in the northern West Bank.
Sanur was among four West Bank settlements evacuated in 2005 under Israel’s so-called "disengagement plan," which also included a full military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Smotrich declared that the reconstruction of Sanur signals a wider objective: to reestablish settlement outposts not only in the West Bank but eventually in Gaza as well.
He cited the example of the Homesh settlement, also evacuated in 2005, as part of this broader return plan. His statements dismissed longstanding international objections, claiming that such outposts are part of Israel's sovereign right, despite United Nations resolutions and international law deeming all Israeli settlements in occupied territory illegal.
The Israeli government announced in May the approval of 22 new settlement projects across the West Bank, drawing widespread condemnation from the international community and further escalating tensions in the region.
