Israel's hawkish minister announces approval of 19 new settlements in West Bank

Israel’s so-called security cabinet has given the final approval to a highly controversial project of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite international condemnation and growing calls for a halt to settlement activity.

“The proposal by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz (minister for military affairs) to declare and formalize 19 new settlements in the West Bank has been approved by the cabinet,” the office of far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced in a statement on Sunday.

The hawkish minister further said that the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“On the ground, we are blocking the establishment of a Palestinian terror state,” the statement read.  

Smotrich’s office said the 19 newly approved settlements are located in what it described as “highly strategic” areas, adding that two of them -- Ganim and Kadim in the northern West Bank -- would be re-established after being dismantled two decades ago. 

Five of the 19 settlements already existed but had not previously been granted legal status under Israeli law, the statement noted. 

The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to at least 69.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently condemned Israel’s “relentless” expansion of settlements in the occupied territory.

The latest approvals come days after the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank had reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the world body began tracking such data. 

“These figures represent a sharp increase compared to previous years,” Guterres said. 

He noted that an average of 12,815 housing units were added annually between 2017 and 2022. 

“These developments are further entrenching the unlawful Israeli occupation and violating international law and undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” he said. 

It “continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State,” the UN chief said earlier this month.

In September, Smotrich announced plans to annex more than 80 percent of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli minister called the West Bank annexation “a preventative step” against moves by many countries to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Hawkish Israeli ministers push West Bank annexation amid Western recognition of Palestine

The furious reaction by Israeli ministers comes after Britain, Canada, and Australia formally recognized the state of Palestine.

Since the start of the Israeli genocidal war in the besieged Gaza Strip, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state have proliferated, with several Western states recently moving to formally recognize Palestine. 

Long-time Western allies of Israel, including Belgium, France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, recognized Palestinian statehood during a UN General Assembly session from September 8–23. They joined 147 nations that had already formally recognized Palestine. 

US President Donald Trump, a key backer of the Israeli regime, has warned Israel about annexing the West Bank. 

“Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened,” Trump said in a recent interview with Time magazine. 

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza began in October 2023.

Israel to discuss construction of over 2,000 illegal settler units in West Bank

Israeli occupation officials plan to discuss construction of 2,006 new illegal settler units in eight settlements across the occupied West Bank, including al-Quds.

At least 1,102 Palestinians have since been killed in the West Bank, and nearly 11,000 others have been injured in attacks by the military and Israeli settlers in the occupied territory.

Around 21,000 people have also been abducted by the occupying regime’s forces.

For months, rights organizations have been warning that Palestinians in the West Bank face a growing threat of ethnic cleansing amid the continuing violence.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s prolonged occupation of historic Palestine was unlawful and called for the removal of all settlements currently in the West Bank and East al-Quds.

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