🔗 Share this article

Israel's defense cabinet has voted to recognize the formalization of 19 additional communities in the disputed West Bank, signaling a ongoing push for territorial growth.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the measure together with Defense Chief Israel Katz, stated that the decision was about blocking the creation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered unlawful.

The move has elicited condemnation from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "relentless" settlement expansion fuels frictions, limits Palestinian access to land, and jeopardizes the viability of a independent Palestinian state.

Escalating Tensions and Political Repercussions

Unrest in the region has surged since the hostilities in Gaza began in the autumn of 2023, adding to fears that the growth of communities could solidify Israel's occupation and weaken the possibility for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states refers to the creation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, roughly along the lines that were in place prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Since taking office in late 2022, the present Israeli government has greatly accelerated the green-lighting of new settlements and started the process of legalization for informal settler outposts, designating them as "suburbs" of established communities.

A Pattern of Expansion

The latest decision takes the overall count of settlements recognized over the past three years to sixty-nine, as stated by Smotrich.

These approvals are announced just days after the UN reported that construction in settlements had hit its most intense pace since 2017.

The latest group of authorizations features the rebuilding of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed almost two decades ago.

Earlier this year, Israel gave the nod to 22 additional communities in the occupied West Bank - what was the largest expansion in many years.

In a related development, the government gave the go-ahead for projects last summer to construct in excess of 3,000 homes in the controversial E1 area between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been frozen for many years amid strong global opposition.

Regarding that plan, Smotrich remarked it would "end the concept of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Facts and Global Reactions

Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers live in approximately one hundred and sixty settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians aspire to have for a prospective independent state.

This ongoing construction has drawn ire from neighboring countries who have steadfastly contended it erodes prospects for a two-state solution.

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

Ex- US President Donald Trump had once cautioned Israel about such a move, telling a publication that Israel would lose its backing from the United States if it proceeded.

In a diplomatic shift, the United Kingdom - joined by other nations including Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic adjustment in government policy.

Israel was against this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a Palestinian state "will not happen."