Far-right Israeli politicians are celebrating Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s claim that Israel’s security cabinet has approved his proposed legalization of five illegal “outposts” on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

Earlier, we reported that Smotrich said in a Thursday statement that the government will support the formalization of the illegal West Bank settlements, as well as punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority in response to its diplomacy on the international stage critical of Israel.

“I congratulate my friend Smotrich for leading the move, which I had the honour of co-initiating and taking part in preparing,” Orit Strock, settlements and national projects minister with Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, posted on X.

The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, also said that the move was a “Zionist decision and a strong message of victory”. The head of the Binyamin Regional Council, Israel Gantz, also hailed the decision as a measure “that strengthens the State of Israel”.

There has been no official confirmation of Smotrich’s claims from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.