Israel accelerating settlements legalization to block Palestinian state: Rights group

A Palestinian anti-settlement group has warned that Israel is intensifying its efforts to legitimize settlement outposts and so-called pastoral farms, transforming them into recognized settlements in clear defiance of international law and UN resolutions, with open political support from the United States. 

The National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance to Settlements stated in its latest report that the so-called Israeli security cabinet has given the green light for the creation of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank – a decision widely regarded as a significant breach of international law. 

The office noted that far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich labeled the move as historic, stating its purpose is to block any chance for the formation of a Palestinian state.

The report indicated that the recent approvals have raised the total number of authorized settlements over the past three years to 69, highlighting an unprecedented surge in settlement expansion, as outlined in Smotrich's own remarks.

It noted that the newly approved settlements, distributed throughout the West Bank, largely include areas that were evacuated in 2005, illegal outposts, extremist pastoral farms, or parts of existing settlements that have been reclassified as independent settlements.

This reclassification grants them access to official budgets, infrastructure, and other benefits, the rights group said.

The report said the measures are part of a larger strategy implemented by the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aimed at legalizing unauthorized outposts and further solidifying Israeli authority within the West Bank.

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The office said earlier steps involved isolating settlement neighborhoods from major blocs and granting retroactive legal status to numerous outposts.

Certain settlements undergoing regularization, like Ganim and Kadim, originated in the 1980s and eventually turned into isolated communes within areas designated as A and B under the Oslo Accords.

The report highlighted that these settlements fragment Palestinian territory, especially in the northern West Bank, in areas that were previously off-limits to Israeli presence under the 2005 disengagement law, which had led to the dismantling of four settlements in that region.

The report stated that outposts and pastoral farms are being transformed into formal settlements, alongside plans to extend current settlements by constructing hundreds of new housing units.

The initiative is part of a broader settlement project designed to claim additional Palestinian land, the office said.

After the launch of Israel's genocidal war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities examined around 355 master plans for the development of 37,415 settlement units across 38,551 dunams (39 square kilometers) of Palestinian land. Among these, approval has been granted for 18,801 units, while the remaining 18,614 are still undergoing review.

Over 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live in more than 230 settlements established following the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

The international community views these settlements as a violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions because they are built on occupied Palestinian territories.

The UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council have consistently denounced Israel's settlement activities through various resolutions.

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