JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s hardline Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday he wanted to see more Jewish settlements after European and U.S. foreign ministers said they were troubled by a recent decision by Israel to authorise settler outposts.
“The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel,” he said in a video message that followed a statement of concern from Washington and its European allies, France, Germany, Italy and Britain.
On Sunday, Israel granted retroactive authorisation to nine Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and announced mass-construction of new homes in established settlements, prompting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to say he was “deeply troubled” by the move.
“This is our mission. This our doctrine,” Ben-Gvir said. “Nine settlements is nice but it’s still not enough. We want much more,” he said.
(Reporting by Dan Williams; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Alison Williams)
