🔗 Share this article

Israel's security cabinet has given its endorsement to the formalization of 19 fresh outposts in the occupied West Bank, representing a continued drive for territorial growth.

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

According to global statutes, Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are viewed as in violation of international law.

The decision has sparked censure from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "unceasing" settlement expansion exacerbates frictions, restricts Palestinians' access to territory, and undermines the prospects of a independent Palestinian state.

Rising Tensions and Diplomatic Repercussions

Violence in the region has increased sharply since the hostilities in Gaza erupted in October 2023, adding to fears that settlement expansion could entrench Israel's occupation and damage the possibility for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states refers to the formation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, largely along the borders that were in place prior to the 1967 Middle East war.

Since coming to power in 2022, the current government in Jerusalem has ramped up the approval of new settlements and initiated the formal recognition for previously illegal outposts, recognising them as "suburbs" of established settlements.

A Pattern of Growth

The latest decision takes the cumulative figure of communities authorized over the preceding 36 months to sixty-nine, as stated by Minister Smotrich.

These authorizations arrive just days after the United Nations reported that settlement expansion had reached its highest level since 2017.

The most recent batch of authorizations features the rebuilding of a pair of settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled nearly in 2005.

Previously, the Israeli government gave the nod to 22 additional settlements in the territories - what was the biggest wave of approvals in decades.

Additionally, the government also approved projects last summer to build in excess of three thousand housing units in the so-called E1 area between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been stalled for many years amid intense global objection.

Regarding that plan, the Finance Minister remarked it would "end the notion of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and Global Reactions

Approximately seven hundred thousand settlers reside in about 160 settlements in the occupied territories, according to the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people envision for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from Arab nations who have steadfastly contended it harms hopes for a two-state solution.

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

Former American President Donald Trump had once cautioned the Israeli leadership about annexation, telling a publication that the country would forfeit all its support from the US if it occurred.

In a policy change, the UK - along with other countries such as Australia and Canada - recognised a Palestinian state, a significant although primarily ceremonial change in foreign policy.

The Israeli government opposed the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a sovereign Palestine "is off the table."