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Israel's security cabinet has formally approved the formalization of 19 new settlements in the contested West Bank, marking a ongoing campaign for settlement expansion.

Far-right Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who advocated for the step together with Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the approval was intended for preventing the establishment of a sovereign Palestine.

According to global statutes, Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal.

The announcement has sparked condemnation from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities fuels tensions, curtails Palestinian access to land, and jeopardizes the prospects of a independent Palestinian state.

Rising Tensions and Political Fallout

Violence in the region has escalated since the conflict in Gaza erupted in the autumn of 2023, further heightening concerns that the growth of communities could solidify Israel's occupation and weaken the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states involves the establishment of a State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, roughly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has greatly accelerated the green-lighting of new settlements and begun the legalisation process for previously illegal outposts, classifying them as "extensions" of established settlements.

A Pattern of Growth

The most recent approval pushes the cumulative figure of settlements recognized over the last three years to 69, per the figures from the Finance Minister.

These authorizations are announced a short time after the United Nations reported that settlement expansion had hit its highest level since the year 2017.

The most recent batch of approvals features the revival of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed about in 2005.

In a previous move, the Israeli government approved 22 additional settlements in the territories - what was the most significant wave of approvals in many years.

Additionally, the Israeli government gave the go-ahead for blueprints last summer to construct over three thousand homes in the controversial E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been on hold for decades amid intense global condemnation.

At that time, the Finance Minister stated it would "put to rest the notion of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Realities and International Response

An estimated 700,000 settlers live in approximately one hundred and sixty settlements in the occupied territories, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a future sovereign nation.

This ongoing construction has provoked Arab states who have steadfastly said it erodes prospects for a two-state solution.

It has also raised fears about the eventual annexing of the occupied West Bank.

Ex- US President Donald Trump had previously admonished the Israeli leadership about such a move, stating to a publication that Israel would lose all its support from the United States if it proceeded.

Recently, the United Kingdom - joined by other countries including Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although primarily ceremonial change in official stance.

Israel opposed this step, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."