Israel's Settlement Expansion in West Bank Continues Despite Palestinian Boycott.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist advocate of settlements, practically all control over planning approval for construction in West Bank settlements, according to a controversial resolution passed by the government. The decision also expedites and eases the process for expanding existing West Bank settlements and retroactively legalizing some illegal outposts. Settlement leaders praised the move, while opponents warned it would allow for unchecked expansion of the settlements and constituted further “de facto annexation” of the West Bank.