Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank said Monday they have reopened a religious school in a settlement in the northern West Bank that was vacated in 2005.
The controversial move followed a decision by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in March. It decided to cancel the withdrawal from four settlements in the northern West Bank completed in 2005.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the inauguration of the synagogue at a new site in Khomesh on Monday a "historic moment."
Israeli Army Radio, on the other hand, reported that security sources sharply criticized the decision.
Advocates of an independent Palestinian state warned that the decision to return to the four settlements makes a political solution to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians more difficult.
Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among other territories, since the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Some 600,000 Israelis live there today in more than 200 settlements. In 2016, the U.N. Security Council described these settlements as a violation of international law and called on Israel to stop all settlement activities.
The right-wing Israeli head of government Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly announced the annexation of large parts of the West Bank but suspended these plans in return for a rapprochement agreement with the United Arab Emirates in 2020, but Israel has continued to expand settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In a separate incident Monday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry confirmed.
Ashraf Mohammed Ibrahim, 37, was "shot by the Israeli occupation" in the northern city of Jenin, the ministry said.
Ibrahim was an officer in the Palestinian intelligence service, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The Israeli military claimed "suspects fired heavily at the forces, who responded with fire toward the armed men" during a raid in Jenin.
"In addition, suspects hurled explosive devices at the forces," added the army statement.
Six people were arrested in Jenin, according to Palestinian prisoners' advocacy groups.
Israeli forces regularly conduct raids in the West Bank. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Jenin in recent months, including both minors and armed fighters.
Since the start of the year, at least 155 Palestinians, 20 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources.
The figures include combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.
