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The nation's defense cabinet has given its endorsement to the formalization of 19 new outposts in the occupied Palestinian territories, signaling a sustained push for territorial growth.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the step together with Defense Chief Israel Katz, asserted that the decision was about preventing the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

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

The decision has elicited condemnation from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "relentless" settlement expansion exacerbates tensions, limits Palestinians' use of land, and undermines the prospects of a independent Palestine.

Escalating Tensions and Diplomatic Repercussions

Unrest in the occupied West Bank has surged since the war in the Gaza Strip erupted in the autumn of 2023, intensifying apprehensions that settlement expansion could solidify Israel's occupation and undermine the chance for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, largely along the boundaries that existed prior to the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Since coming to power in 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has significantly increased the approval of new settlements and started the process of legalization for unauthorised settler outposts, classifying them as "extensions" of established communities.

Ongoing Expansion

The latest decision pushes the total number of settlements recognized over the last three years to sixty-nine, according to the Finance Minister.

These authorizations come only a few days after the UN reported that settlement expansion had attained its most intense pace since 2017.

The newest batch of authorizations encompasses the re-establishment of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled almost two decades ago.

In a previous move, the Israeli government gave the nod to 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank - labeled as the biggest expansion in many years.

Additionally, the government sanctioned projects in August to construct in excess of 3,000 housing units in the so-called E1 corridor between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been frozen for decades amid fierce foreign condemnation.

On that occasion, Smotrich remarked it would "put to rest the concept of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Facts and International Reactions

Approximately seven hundred thousand Israeli settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the occupied territories, according to the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people seek for a prospective independent state.

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

It has furthermore raised concerns about the potential incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Former American President Donald Trump had once cautioned Israel about this step, stating to a publication that Israel would lose all its support from the United States if it occurred.

In a policy change, the UK - joined by other nations including Australia and Canada - acknowledged a Palestinian state, a major although primarily ceremonial change in official stance.

Israel was against this recognition, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a sovereign Palestine "is off the table."