Haim Katz, the tourism minister of Israel's new hardline government, has announced investments in the development and rehabilitation of tourism in the occupied West Bank region of Palestine.
According to the Associated Press report, Haim Katz made the remark days after Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu took office.
Haim Katz's government allies include senior far-right settler leaders, and he pledged to his allies that he would make settlements in the West Bank a priority.
It should be noted that Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967 during the Middle East battle, after which dozens of Jewish settlements were built and now there are about five hundred thousand Jewish homes.
The Palestinians claim the entire West Bank as a future independent state and consider these settlements illegal.
At an event on Sunday, Israel's new tourism minister, Haim Katz, said he will use all resources to promote tourism in the West Bank.
The Minister of Tourism says that we will invest in areas that may not have received due attention until now.
Haim Katz, using the biblical term for the West Bank, a favorite place for religious and right-wing Israeli Jews, added that there would be a special place for Judea and Samaria.
It should be noted that West Bank settlers work in the hospitality industry to promote the tourism sector here.
Israel sees it as part of a wider tourism sector, while international human rights groups believe it is an attempt by Israel to increase its control over the occupied territory.
In turn, the United Nations General Assembly on Friday asked the United Nations' highest judicial body to give its opinion on the legality of Israel's policy in the occupied West Bank, but Benjamin Netanyahu called the resolution "shameful ". It has been said that Israel is under no obligation to cooperate with the International Court of Justice.
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