As the government continues to press for settlement development, 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank have been approved by Israel’s security cabinet. The decision was made to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, according to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who recommended the action with Defense Minister Israel Katz.
International law views Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as unlawful. Saudi Arabia denounced the action. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Israel’s “relentless” settlement development exacerbates tensions, limits Palestinian land access, and jeopardizes the existence of an independent Palestinian state.
Since the war in Gaza started in October 2023, there has been an increase in violence in the occupied West Bank, which has increased concerns that settlement growth will solidify Israel’s occupation and jeopardize a two-state solution.
The establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, essentially along the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, is known as the “two-state solution.
The current Israeli government has started the legalization process for unauthorized outposts, acknowledging them as “neighbourhoods” of established settlements, and has greatly boosted the approval of new settlements since entering power in 2022.
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