🔗 Share this article

Israel's security cabinet has given its endorsement to the formalization of 19 fresh outposts in the contested Palestinian territories, representing a ongoing drive for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the move in concert with Defence Minister Israel Katz, asserted that the approval was about preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

According to global statutes, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered in violation of international law.

The move has elicited condemnation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "unceasing" settlement expansion exacerbates tensions, curtails Palestinian use of territory, and jeopardizes the viability of a independent Palestinian state.

Escalating Tensions and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the region has increased sharply since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, further heightening concerns that the growth of communities could solidify Israel's occupation and undermine the chance for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, broadly along the lines that were in place before the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the incumbent Israeli government has significantly increased the approval of new settlements and begun the legalisation process for previously illegal outposts, designating them as "neighbourhoods" of existing settlements.

Ongoing Growth

The latest decision pushes the total number of communities authorized over the last three years to sixty-nine, according to the Finance Minister.

These decisions come a short time after the UN said that settlement expansion had attained its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The newest round of authorizations encompasses the re-establishment of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled almost two decades ago.

Previously, the Israeli government approved 22 additional communities in the territories - labeled as the largest expansion in decades.

Furthermore, the government sanctioned plans in August to construct more than 3,000 housing units in the so-called E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim community, a initiative that had been stalled for decades amid strong global condemnation.

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

Demographic Facts and International Reactions

Approximately seven hundred thousand settlers dwell in around 160 settlements in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people seek for a future sovereign nation.

Settlement expansion has angered neighboring countries who have consistently contended it undermines prospects for a two-state solution.

It has furthermore sparked fears about the possible incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Former US President Donald Trump had once admonished Israel about annexation, stating to a publication that the country would lose all its support from the US if it happened.

In a policy change, the UK - together with other countries including Australia and Canada - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a notable although largely symbolic shift in government policy.

The Israeli government was against this step, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a sovereign Palestine "is not going to occur."