Historic UNESCO site threatened? Israel approves new settlement in West Bank near Bethlehem

Israel has green-lit a new settlement on a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to a Wednesday (August 14) announcement by Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister and head of civil affairs at the Israeli defence ministry.

Smotrich revealed that his office had "completed its work and published a plan for the new Nahal Heletz settlement in Gush Etzion," a bloc situated south of Jerusalem.

Settlements, permissions and more

The move comes amidst ongoing international criticism of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, alldeemed illegal under international law regardless of Israeli planning permissions.

Smotrich, who resides in a settlement, took to social media platform X to defend the decision, declaring, "No anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist decision will stop the development of settlements."

חיבור גוש עציון לירושלים - משימה לאומית!

יישוב חדש בגוש עציון; פורסם קו כחול של 602 דונם להקמה של היישוב נחל חלץ.

היום סיים המנהל האזרחי את עבודתו המקצועית ופרסם קו כחול חדש ליישוב נחל חלץ בגוש עציון.

פרסום הקו הכחול מאפשר להניע את הליכי הקמת היישוב נחל חלץ, אחד מהיישובים… pic.twitter.com/qK4sLwx1ik — בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) August 14, 2024

"We will continue to fight against the dangerous project of creating a Palestinian state by creating facts on the ground," he added.

Critics slam the settlement

The approval of the Nahal Heletz settlement has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli anti-settlement groups.

Peace Now condemned the plan as a "wholesale attack" on the region. Highlighting its historical and cultural significance, the group said that the area was "renowned for its ancient terraces and sophisticated irrigation systems, evidence of thousands of years of human activity".

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The World Heritage Site of Palestine, known as the Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern JLM, Battir, southwest of JLM, is under direct threat from ongoing & planned Israeli settlement activities within the zone of the site, situated in Area C of the WB. pic.twitter.com/OpCoirODNq — Peace Now (@peacenowisrael) August 12, 2024

The settlement is set to encroach on the Palestinian village of Battir, reports AFP.

The approval of this settlement follows a controversial act by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who drew global condemnation by participating in prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem, a site where Jewish prayers are prohibited.

Nahal Heletz

The Nahal Heletz settlement, which had received preliminary approval along with four other settlements in June, lies between Gush Etzion and Bethlehem.

Peace Now warns that this settlement threatens the Palestinian cultural and natural heritage in a region considered of "highest cultural value to humanity."

"These actions are not only fragmenting Palestinian space and depriving large communities of their natural and cultural heritage, they also pose an imminent threat to an area considered to be of the highest cultural value to humanity," said the organisation.

(With inputs from agencies)