🔗 Share this article

The nation's top security body has formally approved the recognition of 19 fresh communities in the occupied Palestinian territories, marking a ongoing push for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and put forward the step alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, asserted that the decision was aimed at thwarting the establishment of a sovereign Palestine.

It is important to note that Israeli settlements in the disputed territories are viewed as illegal.

The announcement has drawn censure from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "persistent" settlement expansion exacerbates tensions, limits Palestinians' access to territory, and threatens the viability of a independent Palestine.

Increased Tensions and Political Repercussions

Unrest in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, adding to concerns that settlement expansion could solidify the Israeli presence and undermine the chance for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The two-state solution involves the creation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, roughly along the lines that were in place before the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Since coming to power in 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has greatly accelerated the green-lighting of fresh communities and begun the formal recognition for informal outposts, recognising them as "suburbs" of established communities.

Sustained Growth

The most recent approval takes the cumulative figure of communities recognized over the past three years to sixty-nine, per the figures from Smotrich.

These decisions are announced just days after the UN reported that construction in settlements had hit its highest level since the year 2017.

The newest round of approvals encompasses the re-establishment of a pair of communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated about in 2005.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government approved twenty-two additional settlements in the territories - what was the largest wave of approvals in many years.

In a related development, the government sanctioned plans in August to construct over three thousand residences in the so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been frozen for many years amid fierce foreign condemnation.

On that occasion, Smotrich remarked it would "end the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Realities and International Reactions

Roughly 700,000 settlers live in around 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a future sovereign nation.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from Arab nations who have consistently said it undermines hopes for a two-state solution.

It has also raised concerns about the eventual incorporation of the disputed territories.

Former American President Donald Trump had once admonished Israel about this step, stating to a publication that the country would forfeit its backing from the US if it happened.

In a diplomatic shift, the United Kingdom - along with other countries such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a significant although largely symbolic shift in government policy.

The Israeli government was against the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."