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The nation's defense cabinet has voted to recognize the establishment of nineteen additional communities in the disputed West Bank, marking a sustained campaign for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who put forward the measure together with Defence Minister Israel Katz, stated that the move was about thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

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

The move has sparked condemnation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities heightens tensions, limits Palestinian access to territory, and undermines the prospects of a independent Palestine.

Rising Unrest and Political Fallout

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has increased sharply since the war in Gaza erupted in the autumn of 2023, adding to concerns that settlement expansion could entrench Israel's occupation and damage the chance for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The two-state solution involves the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, largely along the borders that existed prior to the 1967 Middle East war.

Since taking office in late 2022, the incumbent Israeli government has ramped up the approval of new settlements and initiated the process of legalization for unauthorised settler outposts, recognising them as "extensions" of established settlements.

Ongoing Expansion

The most recent decision takes the cumulative figure of communities recognized over the past three years to sixty-nine, according to Minister Smotrich.

These approvals come a short time after the UN reported that construction in settlements had hit its peak since 2017.

The most recent group of approvals features the rebuilding of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated nearly in 2005.

Previously, the Israeli government gave the nod to twenty-two new communities in the territories - described as the largest expansion in decades.

Furthermore, the Israeli government gave the go-ahead for projects last summer to erect over three thousand housing units in the controversial E1 area between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been frozen for many years amid strong foreign condemnation.

At that time, Smotrich remarked it would "end the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and Global Response

Roughly seven hundred thousand settlers dwell in around one hundred and sixty communities in the occupied territories, according to the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that Palestinians seek for a future sovereign nation.

Settlement expansion has angered Arab nations who have repeatedly contended it harms chances for a two-state solution.

It has also fueled fears about the potential incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Ex- US President Donald Trump had once warned the Israeli leadership about such a move, stating to a publication that Israel would forfeit all its support from the US if it proceeded.

Recently, the United Kingdom - together with other nations such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic shift in foreign policy.

The Israeli government was against this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that a Palestinian state "is off the table."