Israel’s security cabinet has formally approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, raising the total number authorized in the past three years to 69, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
New Settlements
Several world powers and multiple UN Security Council resolutions consider such settlements illegal under international law.
However, Israel rejects this, raising biblical heritage and historical claims to justify its presence on the land.
“The proposal by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz to declare and formalize 19 new settlements in Judea and Samaria has been approved by the cabinet,” a statement from Mr Smotrich’s office read.
Arab states denounced the decision once reports surfaced of Israel’s plan to formalize the settlements. Saudi Arabia urged the international community to assume its responsibilities “to end these violations”.
“On the ground, we are blocking the establishment of a Palestinian terror state. We will continue to develop, build and settle the land of our ancestral heritage, with faith in the justice of our path,” Smotrich added.
Burying Palestinian State
In August, Smotrich announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
During his visit to Maale Adumim, Smotrich revealed that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme, a long-delayed settlement.
Increasing Settlement Expansion
A recent report by the United Nations Chief showed that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank has reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the UN began systematically tracking such activity, according to AFP.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the “relentless” expansion, describing it as a catalyst for fueling tensions, restricting access by Palestinians to their land and undermining “the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State.”
Israel advanced, approved, or tendered plans for nearly 47,390 housing units in 2015, compared to 26,170 in 2024.
Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and later annexed in 1967, the West Bank is home to approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers, alongside around three million Palestinians.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, violence in the West Bank has seen unprecedented levels.
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