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Israel's defense cabinet has voted to recognize the recognition of 19 new settlements in the contested West Bank, signaling a ongoing push for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the measure together with Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the move was intended for preventing the creation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the disputed territories are considered in violation of international law.

The decision has elicited condemnation from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities heightens frictions, limits Palestinians' access to territory, and jeopardizes the feasibility of a independent Palestine.

Escalating Unrest and Diplomatic Repercussions

Violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023, adding to apprehensions that settlement expansion could entrench the Israeli presence and undermine the possibility for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along the boundaries that existed before the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war.

Since coming to power in 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has greatly accelerated the green-lighting of new settlements and initiated the legalisation process for previously illegal outposts, classifying them as "extensions" of existing communities.

A Pattern of Growth

The latest decision brings the cumulative figure of communities recognized over the past three years to 69, per the figures from Minister Smotrich.

These decisions are announced a short time after the UN stated that construction in settlements had hit its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The most recent group of approvals encompasses the re-establishment of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled about two decades ago.

Earlier this year, Israel gave the nod to twenty-two additional settlements in the territories - labeled as the most significant wave of approvals in many years.

In a related development, the Israeli government sanctioned projects last summer to construct more than 3,000 residences in the so-called E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a plan that had been frozen for decades amid intense global condemnation.

On that occasion, the Finance Minister stated it would "put to rest the concept of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and International Response

An estimated 700,000 settlers dwell in approximately one hundred and sixty settlements in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians seek for a prospective sovereign nation.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from Arab states who have repeatedly said it undermines hopes for a peaceful two-state outcome.

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

Former US President Donald Trump had previously warned the Israeli leadership about this step, telling a publication that Israel would lose its backing from the US if it occurred.

Recently, the UK - together with other countries such as Australia and Canada - acknowledged a State of Palestine, a notable although primarily ceremonial adjustment in official stance.

The Israeli government strongly rejected this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a sovereign Palestine "is not going to occur."