Jewish settlers build a religious school in an abandoned West Bank outpost after Israel lifts the ban

Tel Aviv: After Israel's government lifted a ban on settlement construction in several evacuated communities in the northern part of the territory, Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank claimed Monday that they had built a religious school in a demolished outpost.

In Homesh, one of the four West Bank outposts that were evacuated as part of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the school was constructed on Sunday.

Israel's far-right government repealed a law from 2005 that forbade Israelis from returning to the four outposts in March.

Anti-settlement organisations claim that the prospect of a contiguous, independent Palestinian state is further diminished by the construction of new settlements in those areas. Israel's closest ally, the US, has also expressed concern.

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In a video posted to social media, settler leaders prayed before dedicating the single-story religious school and expressed their desire to rebuild the other evacuated settlements as well.

The settlement movement's efforts to strengthen Israel's control over the northern West Bank have focused on Homesh. Despite the 2005 act, settlers have long continued to live in the outpost, erecting tents and other structures on the sites of abandoned houses. Although the military occasionally destroyed those buildings, it largely ignored the settlers' presence at the outpost, which was established on Palestinian land that belonged to them.

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One of Israel's top priorities is stopping the construction of new settlements. Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, who also has some control over West Bank settlements, is among the members of the ruling coalition, which is headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israeli Army Radio, Smotrich and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant approved the construction of the Homesh religious seminary.

Members of the government praised the new building. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister and a prominent government official who is also a settler, called it "an exciting historic moment."

A request for comment was not immediately answered by the military or a Gallant spokeswoman.

Washington has repeatedly criticised Israel's plans for Homesh and the other three settlements that were destroyed in 2005, saying it is "deeply troubled" by them. The majority of the world's nations view the 700,000-person Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as illegal and obstacles to peace.

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Homesh's construction is taking place as violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank is at an all-time high, with much of it concentrated in the northern part of the region. Since last spring, Israel has conducted raids almost every night in response to a wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

In the 1967 Middle East conflict, Israel seized control of east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. For their future state, the Palestinians seek those areas.