Israel’s security cabinet has approved recognizing 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government continues to push for settlement expansion.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the measure along with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said the decision would block the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Saudi Arabia condemned the move. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel’s unrelenting settlement expansion is increasing tensions, limiting Palestinian access to land and threatening the survival of a sovereign Palestinian state.
Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, further heightening concerns that settlement expansion could strengthen Israel’s occupation and undermine the two-state solution.
The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip along the lines that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Since taking office in 2022, the current Israeli government has significantly increased approvals for new settlements and begun the legalization process for unauthorized outposts, recognizing them as ‘neighbors’ of existing settlements.
The most recent decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to Smotrich.
The approval comes just days after the United Nations said settlement expansion had reached its highest level since 2017.
The latest approval includes the reconstruction of two settlements, Ganim and Kadim, that were demolished nearly 20 years ago.
In May, Israel approved 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, the largest expansion in decades.
Israel’s government in August approved plans to build more than 3,000 homes in the so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, which had been frozen for decades amid international opposition.
Smotrich said at the time that the plan would “bury the concept of a Palestinian state.”
About 700,000 settlers live in about 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group. This is the land where Palestinians dream of a future independent nation.
The settlement expansion has angered Arab countries, which have consistently said it undermines prospects for a two-state solution.
Concerns have also been raised about a possible annexation of the occupied West Bank.
In an interview with TIME magazine, US President Donald Trump warned Israel that if such a move were to occur, Israel would lose all support from the US.
Last September, Britain joined other countries, including Australia and Canada, in recognizing the state of Palestine, a symbolic but significant change in government policy.
Israel opposed the move, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a Palestinian state “will not exist.”
