Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that he is advancing the legalization of some 140 unauthorized farming outposts in the West Bank, and is being supported in this effort by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Speaking in a video message to a “conference of appreciation” for illegal farming outposts, Katz lauded those involved in those endeavors as “the pioneers of our days” and praised them for their work in “weakening the Palestinians’ efforts to establish themselves in the region.”

Some of these farming outposts have become hotbeds for settler violence that terrorizes nearby Palestinian communities, as far-right activists use the agricultural communes to expand Israel’s grip over West Bank territory.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about whether the prime minister supports the legalization of the 140 farming outposts. However, he has reportedly expressed support for the move in the past.

Smotrich and Settlements Minister Orit Struck attended the conference, which was held at the illegal farming outpost of Hesed Olam and organized by the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, within whose jurisdiction the outpost lies.

The establishment of illegal farming outposts in the West Bank, which usually involved the grazing of sheep, goats, or cattle across large areas of land, has in recent years become a tactic widely used by settler activists, in coordination with regional settlement councils and

© The Times of Israel