Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday boasted that Israel had begun demolishing 26 Palestinian buildings near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.
Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, said on US social media company X that the demolitions began Wednesday morning, paving the way for renewed illegal settlement activity in the area.
He claimed the Palestinian buildings were “illegal.”
The far-right minister also published photos that he said showed the demolition operation, which comes amid accelerating Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
In late 2025, the Israeli government approved the reestablishment of Ganim and Kadim, near Jenin, as part of a decision to establish or reorganize 19 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
