Israel will establish its first local council for illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank for the first time in 24 years. Israel’s commander of soldiers in the occupied West Bank, Yehuda Fuchs, on Monday signed a decree to unify the illegal settlement communities of Etz Efraim and Sha’arei Tikva, near the West Bank city of Nablus, to create a council. The move, the first of its kind since the 90s, was approved by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Defence Minister Benny Gantz. Both are avid supporters of illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land. The head of the Samaria Regional …