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The nation's top security body has given its endorsement to the establishment of nineteen additional communities in the occupied Palestinian territories, representing a sustained drive for community development.

Hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the measure alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, stated that the approval was about blocking the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are viewed as in violation of international law.

The move has sparked condemnation from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "relentless" settlement expansion exacerbates frictions, limits Palestinian access to territory, and threatens the viability of a independent Palestinian state.

Rising Unrest and Political Fallout

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has increased sharply since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip began in the autumn of 2023, intensifying concerns that settlement expansion could entrench Israel's occupation and weaken the chance for a two-state solution.

The concept of two states refers to the creation of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its seat of government, largely along the lines that were in place prior to the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war.

Since taking office in late 2022, the current government in Jerusalem has ramped up the approval of fresh communities and started the process of legalization for previously illegal outposts, classifying them as "suburbs" of established settlements.

Ongoing Expansion

The latest decision pushes the overall count of settlements approved over the last three years to sixty-nine, per the figures from Smotrich.

These approvals come a short time after the United Nations said that settlement expansion had attained its highest level since 2017.

The newest group of approvals features the rebuilding of a pair of settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed nearly two decades ago.

In a previous move, Israel gave the nod to 22 additional communities in the occupied West Bank - what was the biggest wave of approvals in many years.

In a related development, the Israeli government gave the go-ahead for projects last summer to build more than 3,000 homes in the so-called E1 area between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been frozen for decades amid fierce foreign condemnation.

Regarding that plan, Smotrich said it would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and International Reactions

Roughly seven hundred thousand settlers reside in around one hundred and sixty settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians aspire to have for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has provoked Arab nations who have steadfastly contended it harms prospects for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has also fueled fears about the possible annexing of the occupied West Bank.

Ex- US President Donald Trump had previously admonished Israel about annexation, stating to a publication that Israel would lose its backing from the US if it proceeded.

In a diplomatic shift, the UK - along with other nations including Australia and Canada - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a major although primarily ceremonial change in foreign policy.

The Israeli government opposed this recognition, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."