NGOs and residents of the occupied West Bank warned that the new settlement Israel plans to build under the name "Nahal Heletz" is located on one of the most important UNESCO World Heritage sites, threatening to erase priceless heritage and preventing Palestinians from accessing their lands.

UNESCO announced in a statement that it is "closely monitoring the status of the site," noting that the "World Heritage Committee, during its 46th session, expressed concern over reports related to illegal constructions and settlements within the properties, and in the buffer zone, and called for avoiding any actions that could harm the heritage site."

The extreme Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the establishment of the Nahal Heletz settlement in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, describing it as a "historic moment."

The organization "Peace Now," an Israeli organization campaigning against settlements, condemned the step and warned that the planned settlement among several Palestinian villages would create an "isolated enclave" deep within Palestinian territories, preventing residents from accessing their lands.

It revealed that the plan "will encroach upon more than 150 acres of olive and vineyard land listed by UNESCO, which consists of cultural landscapes in the Battir area south of Jerusalem," according to what was reported by Al-Sharq satellite channel.

It added: "Based on the previous experience of settlers, parts of the land located outside the blue line [settlement borders] are likely to be incorporated into the new settlement, and Palestinians will be deprived of access to their lands."

It also viewed this as another step toward the "effective annexation" of the West Bank, and that the settlement threatens one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites as well.