Israeli Cabinet Approves 19 New West Bank Settlements

Israel has signed off on another round of settlement growth in the occupied West Bank, formally recognizing 19 additional sites despite mounting international criticism. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler leader who advanced the plan with Defense Minister Israel Katz, framed the move Sunday as part of a strategy to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, the BBC reports. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal under international law by most nations, and they're illegal under Israeli law, per CNN. Saudi Arabia denounced the decision, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that continued settlement expansion heightens tensions, limits Palestinian access to land, and jeopardizes prospects for Palestinian statehood.

The approvals extend a trend under the current government, which since taking office in 2022 has accelerated authorizations for new settlements and moved to retroactively legalize previously unauthorized outposts by designating them as parts of existing settlements. Smotrich said the new batch brings the number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69. The latest list includes the return of Ganim and Kadim, two settlements dismantled nearly two decades ago. The decision follows a UN assessment that settlement expansion has reached its highest rate since 2017, and comes after Israel in May approved 22 new settlements, described as the largest expansion in years.

Settlement growth has fueled concern that Israel is entrenching its control over territory Palestinians claim for a future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, roughly along pre-1967 lines. About 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in roughly 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Israeli group Peace Now. Arab governments have repeatedly said the policy erodes the viability of a two-state solution and risks de facto annexation of West Bank land. Israel's far-right Nahala movement praised the expansion and said it will lead to settlements in Gaza, as well.