🔗 Share this article

The nation's defense cabinet has given its endorsement to the recognition of nineteen fresh settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, signaling a continued drive for settlement expansion.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and put forward the measure alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, stated that the approval was aimed at blocking the establishment of a sovereign Palestine.

It is important to note that Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are viewed as illegal.

The decision has elicited criticism from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "unceasing" settlement expansion fuels tensions, restricts Palestinian use of land, and undermines the prospects of a sovereign Palestine.

Escalating Tensions and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the region has surged since the conflict in Gaza began in October 2023, adding to apprehensions that the growth of communities could solidify the Israeli presence and undermine the chance for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states envisions the formation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its seat of government, broadly along the borders that were in place before the 1967 Middle East war.

Since coming to power in late 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has ramped up the authorization of new settlements and started the legalisation process for previously illegal settler outposts, recognising them as "extensions" of established communities.

Ongoing Growth

The latest approval takes the overall count of communities recognized over the preceding 36 months to sixty-nine, per the figures from the Finance Minister.

These authorizations are announced only a few days after the UN reported that construction in settlements had hit its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The latest batch of approvals encompasses the revival of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated about 20 years ago.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government approved 22 new communities in the territories - what was the largest wave of approvals in decades.

In a related development, the government sanctioned plans last summer to build in excess of 3,000 residences in the controversial E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been stalled for decades amid fierce global condemnation.

Regarding that plan, Smotrich remarked it would "put to rest the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and Global Response

Roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers reside in approximately 160 communities in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people seek for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has angered Arab nations who have repeatedly argued it harms chances for a two-state solution.

It has also raised fears about the potential incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Former American President Donald Trump had once warned Israel about annexation, stating to a publication that Israel would forfeit its backing from the United States if it happened.

In a policy change, the UK - along with other countries such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a major although primarily ceremonial change in foreign policy.

Israel was against the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a sovereign Palestine "will not happen."