Israel set to direct $338 million to West Bank settlements
Why it matters: The funding would expand roads, water and sewage links for settlement sites that Palestinians and most countries deem illegal.
Israel's cabinet is expected to take up a plan on Thursday to channel 1 billion shekels, about $338 million, into settlement sites in the occupied West Bank. Anti-settlement group Peace Now said the money would fund access roads, land preparation, sewage systems, water connections and temporary housing compounds. The plan is being pushed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a leading advocate of settlement growth. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's published cabinet agenda shows ministers will discuss temporary sites already approved in the territory, though it does not spell out the funding item. More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem alongside 2.7 million Palestinians.