🔗 Share this article

The nation's security cabinet has given its endorsement to the recognition of nineteen additional communities in the occupied Palestinian territories, marking a continued campaign for territorial growth.

Hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and advocated for the measure in concert with Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the move was intended for thwarting the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are deemed illegal.

The announcement has sparked censure from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "persistent" settlement expansion heightens tensions, restricts Palestinian access to territory, and undermines the feasibility of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Increased Unrest and Political Repercussions

Unrest in the region has escalated since the war in Gaza began in the autumn of 2023, intensifying concerns that the growth of communities could solidify the Israeli presence and damage the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The two-state solution envisions the establishment of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its seat of government, largely along the boundaries that were in place before the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Since taking office in late 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has significantly increased the approval of fresh communities and initiated the process of legalization for informal settler outposts, classifying them as "neighbourhoods" of established communities.

A Pattern of Expansion

The most recent decision pushes the cumulative figure of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to Minister Smotrich.

These decisions come only a few days after the United Nations said that settlement expansion had reached its peak since the year 2017.

The most recent round of authorizations features the revival of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed nearly 20 years ago.

Previously, Israel approved twenty-two new communities in the occupied West Bank - what was the largest wave of approvals in decades.

In a related development, the government also approved blueprints in August to erect over three thousand homes in the controversial E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been frozen for many years amid intense global objection.

At that time, Smotrich remarked it would "put to rest the notion of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and Global Reactions

Roughly 700,000 settlers dwell in around 160 settlements in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians aspire to have for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from neighboring countries who have steadfastly said it undermines chances for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has furthermore raised fears about the eventual formal annexation of the disputed territories.

Former US President Donald Trump had once admonished Israel about annexation, telling TIME magazine that Israel would lose its backing from the United States if it happened.

Recently, the United Kingdom - together with other nations such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a major although largely symbolic adjustment in government policy.

Israel strongly rejected this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a sovereign Palestine "is not going to occur."