🔗 Share this article

The nation's top security body has voted to recognize the formalization of nineteen new settlements in the contested Palestinian territories, representing a sustained campaign for territorial growth.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who put forward the measure alongside Defense Chief Israel Katz, asserted that the approval was aimed at thwarting the creation of a sovereign Palestine.

It is important to note that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered unlawful.

The move has drawn censure from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "persistent" settlement expansion exacerbates frictions, curtails Palestinians' access to territory, and threatens the viability of a independent Palestinian state.

Rising Unrest and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the region has increased sharply since the war in the Gaza Strip erupted in October 2023, adding to concerns that settlement expansion could deepen the Israeli presence and damage the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states refers to the formation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, roughly along the boundaries that were in place prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has significantly increased the green-lighting of fresh communities and initiated the process of legalization for unauthorised outposts, classifying them as "neighbourhoods" of existing settlements.

A Pattern of Expansion

The latest approval pushes the total number of communities recognized over the last three years to 69, per the figures from the Finance Minister.

These decisions are announced just days after the United Nations stated that construction in settlements had hit its highest level since 2017.

The latest batch of approvals encompasses the re-establishment of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed almost 20 years ago.

Previously, the Israeli government authorized 22 new communities in the territories - what was the largest wave of approvals in decades.

In a related development, the government gave the go-ahead for projects in August to construct in excess of 3,000 homes in the so-called E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been on hold for many years amid intense global objection.

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

Demographic Realities and Global Response

An estimated seven hundred thousand Israeli settlers dwell in around one hundred and sixty communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians seek for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has angered Arab states who have steadfastly argued it undermines prospects for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has also sparked fears about the possible incorporation of the disputed territories.

Ex- US President Donald Trump had previously admonished Israel about this step, telling TIME magazine that the country would lose all its support from the United States if it occurred.

In a policy change, the UK - joined by other nations including Australia and Canada - recognised a Palestinian state, a major although primarily ceremonial change in official stance.

Israel strongly rejected the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a sovereign Palestine "is off the table."