Israel authorizes more settlements in the occupied West Bank. Strikes on Gaza kill 13, officials say WSOC TV [Video]

JERUSALEM — (AP) — Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip meanwhile killed at least 13 people overnight, local health officials said.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the settlement decision “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,” using the biblical term for the West Bank, “anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism.”

He added it was also “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.”

Israel has already built well over 100 settlementsacross the territory that …