Israeli Cabinet Ministers and thousands of Israelis participated in a mass rally on Monday, marching towards an evacuated West Bank settlement, Eviatar, in a bold demonstration of support for settlement building in occupied lands.
This act of defiance has raised tensions in the region that have already been heightened due to unrest over a contested Jerusalem holy site.
The rally was reportedly led by hard-line ultranationalist Jewish settlers and attended by at least seven Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both West Bank settlers.
The march passed without major violence, although Israeli troops fired tear gas at Palestinians in the nearby village of Beita who protested the march by hurling stones toward the soldiers.
The international community largely considers Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians, who seek the West Bank, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, for a future independent state.
However, Israel’s current government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has made settlement expansion a top priority and has already advanced plans to build thousands of additional homes.
