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The nation's defense cabinet has given its endorsement to the establishment of nineteen fresh settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, marking a continued drive for settlement expansion.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who put forward the measure together with Defence Minister Israel Katz, stated that the approval was about thwarting the creation of a Palestinian state.

Under international law, Jewish communities in the disputed territories are considered in violation of international law.

The decision has sparked censure from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities fuels frictions, curtails Palestinian use of land, and threatens the feasibility of a independent Palestinian state.

Escalating Unrest and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the occupied West Bank has increased sharply since the conflict in Gaza erupted in October 2023, further heightening concerns that settlement expansion could solidify the Israeli presence and undermine the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states refers to the creation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, largely along the lines that were in place before the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Since taking office in late 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has greatly accelerated the green-lighting of fresh communities and begun the process of legalization for previously illegal outposts, designating them as "neighbourhoods" of established communities.

A Pattern of Growth

The latest approval takes the total number of communities recognized over the past three years to 69, per the figures from the Finance Minister.

These authorizations are announced only a few days after the United Nations stated that settlement expansion had attained its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The latest group of approvals features the rebuilding of a pair of communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated about in 2005.

Previously, Israel authorized twenty-two new settlements in the territories - what was the most significant expansion in decades.

Additionally, the government gave the go-ahead for blueprints last summer to construct over three thousand homes in the so-called E1 corridor between the capital and the Maale Adumim settlement, a plan that had been frozen for decades amid strong international condemnation.

On that occasion, Smotrich said it would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Realities and International Reactions

An estimated seven hundred thousand Israeli settlers live in approximately one hundred and sixty settlements in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a prospective sovereign nation.

Settlement expansion has provoked Arab nations who have consistently argued it harms hopes for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has also sparked concerns about the potential formal annexation of the disputed territories.

Ex- US President Donald Trump had once admonished the Israeli leadership about such a move, stating to a publication that the country would forfeit its backing from the US if it happened.

In a policy change, the UK - together with other nations including Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic adjustment in foreign policy.

The Israeli government strongly rejected this step, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "is off the table."