Israel’s security cabinet has approved the formal recognition of 19 additional settlements in the occupied West Bank, extending a settlement drive that has drawn sharp criticism from regional powers and international bodies.
The decision, announced by far right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, was backed by Defense Minister Israel Katz and framed by supporters as a move to block the creation of a Palestinian state. Smotrich, who lives in a settlement himself, said the approvals were intended to reshape realities on the ground.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are widely regarded as illegal under international law, a position reaffirmed by the United Nations and most of Israel’s allies. Saudi Arabia condemned the latest move, while United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly warned that Israel’s expanding settlement activity fuels violence, limits Palestinian access to land, and threatens the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.
The approvals come amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, where violence has surged since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Analysts and diplomats say the expansion risks entrenching Israel’s long standing occupation at a time when fears are already growing about the collapse of the two state framework.
Since taking office in late 2022, Israel’s current government has sharply increased settlement approvals and moved to retroactively legalize unauthorized outposts by reclassifying them as neighborhoods of existing settlements.
According to Smotrich, the latest decision brings the total number of settlements approved in the past three years to 69. The United Nations said earlier this week that Israeli settlement activity has reached its highest level since 2017.
Among the newly approved sites are Ganim and Kadim, two settlements dismantled nearly two decades ago. In May, Israel authorized 22 new settlements in what was described as the largest expansion in decades.
The government also advanced plans in August to construct more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 area between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement. That project had been frozen for years because of international opposition. Smotrich said at the time that it would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
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Roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers live in about 160 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli anti settlement group Peace Now. Palestinians view the territory as the core of a future independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on borders that existed before the 1967 Arab Israeli war.
Arab governments have consistently warned that settlement expansion undermines prospects for peace and raises concerns about possible annexation of the West Bank. Former US President Donald Trump cautioned Israel against annexation during his term, telling Time magazine that such a move would cost Israel American support.
In September, the United Kingdom, along with countries including Australia and Canada, recognized a Palestinian state in a largely symbolic shift in policy. Israel rejected the move, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying a Palestinian state “will not happen.”