Smotrich said the Israeli government agreed during an overnight cabinet meeting to recognize five illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The minister's office has yet to publicly respond to the cabinet's reports, CNN reported. Once approved, the settlements would be connected to water, electricity and medical care, making them look more like parts of Israel.
Such settlements are considered illegal under international law and in the eyes of much of the international community.
Smotrich is a prominent right-wing populist member of the Israeli government who opposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
He has long defended settlement building, arguing that it is a way to prevent the West Bank from becoming part of such an independent state.
“The goal is to change the DNA of the regime for many years,” he said, according to a leaked audio recording of a speech he gave earlier this month.
Oslo Accords
Israel has expanded settlements in the occupied West Bank in recent decades, despite signing a series of peace agreements with the Palestinians in the 1990s.
The so-called Oslo Accords provided for the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza as part of the negotiated agreement.
