Israel allocated 152 million shekels ($51 million) to prepare construction plans for 69 illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said on Thursday, Anadolu reports.
The allocation was made during a phone vote by ministers last week, the group said in a statement, adding that the government is also preparing a draft resolution to allocate more than 1 billion shekels ($337 million) to establish new illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied territory.
Peace Now said the decision allocates the funds to the Housing Ministry to complete initial planning procedures for the settlements legalized by the government between 2023 and 2025, along with preparing plans to expand settlement building in the West Bank.
There was no immediate comment from the government on the report.
A separate report by Axios said the Israeli Cabinet is expected to approve a plan for funding the de facto establishment of 61 new settlements in the West Bank.
