Israel’s security cabinet has approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government continues its settlement expansion push.<\/p>\n
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the move alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, said the decision was about blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state. <\/p>\n
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law. <\/p>\n
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said Israel’s “relentless” settlement expansion fuels tensions, restricts Palestinian access to land, and threatens the viability of a sovereign Palestinian state. <\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia and the UK also condemned the move. The announcement risked “undermining the [US] 20 Point Plan [for ending the Gaza war] and prospects for the long-term peace and security that only a two-state solution can deliver”, said UK foreign office minister Hamish Falconer.<\/p>\n
Violence in the occupied West Bank has surged since the war in Gaza began following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023, further heightening fears that settlement expansion could entrench Israel’s occupation and undermine a two-state solution.<\/p>\n
The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.<\/p>\n
Since taking office in 2022, the current Israeli government has significantly increased the approval of new settlements and begun the legalisation process for unauthorised outposts, recognising them as “neighbourhoods” of existing settlements.<\/p>\n
The most recent decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to Smotrich.<\/p>\n
The approvals come just days after the United Nations said settlement expansion had reached its highest level since 2017. <\/p>\n
The latest approvals include the re-establishment of two settlements \u2014 Ganim and Kadim \u2014 which were dismantled nearly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n