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The nation's defense cabinet has formally approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, marking a ongoing campaign for community development.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the step in concert with Defense Chief Israel Katz, declared that the approval was aimed at preventing the creation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal.

The move has drawn criticism from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities heightens tensions, restricts Palestinians' access to land, and undermines the prospects of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Rising Tensions and Political Fallout

Violence in the region has surged since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip erupted in the autumn of 2023, intensifying concerns that settlement expansion could deepen the Israeli presence and weaken the possibility for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states involves the creation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, broadly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Since coming to power in late 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has ramped up the approval of fresh communities and begun the legalisation process for unauthorised outposts, recognising them as "suburbs" of established settlements.

A Pattern of Growth

The most recent decision takes the cumulative figure of settlements authorized over the last three years to 69, according to the Finance Minister.

These authorizations arrive only a few days after the UN reported that construction in settlements had reached its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The newest batch of authorizations includes the rebuilding of a pair of settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed almost two decades ago.

Earlier this year, Israel authorized twenty-two new communities in the occupied West Bank - what was the biggest expansion in decades.

Additionally, the government also approved blueprints in August to build over three thousand homes in the so-called E1 corridor between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a plan that had been on hold for many years amid strong global objection.

Regarding that plan, the Finance Minister stated it would "put to rest the notion of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and International Reactions

Roughly 700,000 settlers dwell in about one hundred and sixty communities in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a prospective sovereign nation.

This ongoing construction has drawn ire from Arab states who have consistently contended it harms chances for a two-state solution.

It has also raised anxieties about the eventual annexing of the occupied West Bank.

Ex- American President Donald Trump had previously admonished Israel about annexation, telling 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 such as Australia and Canada - recognised a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic shift in official stance.

Israel opposed the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."