🔗 Share this article

Israel's defense cabinet has given its endorsement to the formalization of 19 fresh settlements in the disputed West Bank, representing a ongoing campaign for settlement expansion.

Hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and advocated for the step alongside Defense Chief Israel Katz, declared that the move was about thwarting the creation of a Palestinian state.

Under international law, Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are considered unlawful.

The decision has sparked censure from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities exacerbates frictions, limits Palestinian access to territory, and threatens the prospects of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Increased Unrest and Political Repercussions

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the hostilities in Gaza erupted in October 2023, intensifying concerns that settlement expansion could deepen Israel's occupation and damage the possibility for a two-state solution.

The concept of two states involves the creation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, broadly along the boundaries that were in place before the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has ramped up the authorization of fresh communities and initiated the legalisation process for informal settler outposts, recognising them as "suburbs" of existing settlements.

Sustained Growth

The latest decision pushes the cumulative figure of communities approved over the past three years to 69, according to Smotrich.

These approvals arrive just days after the United Nations stated that construction in settlements had attained its highest level since 2017.

The newest batch of authorizations encompasses the revival of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated nearly 20 years ago.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government approved twenty-two additional communities in the occupied West Bank - described as the most significant wave of approvals in decades.

Furthermore, the government gave the go-ahead for projects in August to erect over 3,000 residences in the so-called E1 area between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been on hold for decades amid strong foreign opposition.

On that occasion, Smotrich remarked it would "end the concept of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Realities and Global Reactions

An estimated seven hundred thousand settlers reside in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people seek for a future independent state.

This ongoing construction has provoked Arab nations who have steadfastly contended it harms hopes for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has also raised anxieties about the possible formal annexation of the disputed territories.

Former American President Donald Trump had previously cautioned Israel about such a move, telling TIME magazine that Israel would lose its backing from the United States if it proceeded.

In a policy change, the UK - together with other nations including Australia and Canada - recognised a Palestinian state, a notable although largely symbolic shift in government policy.

The Israeli government strongly rejected the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."