🔗 Share this article Israel Authorizes Nineteen New Outposts in Occupied Palestinian Territories Hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, a West Bank settler himself, proposed the move. Israel's top security body has formally approved the recognition of nineteen additional communities in the contested Palestinian territories, representing a ongoing push for settlement expansion. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who put forward the step alongside Defense Chief Israel Katz, stated that the approval was intended for blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state. According to global statutes, Jewish communities in the disputed territories are viewed as in violation of international law. The announcement has sparked condemnation from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities heightens frictions, restricts Palestinians' access to land, and jeopardizes the feasibility of a independent Palestinian state. Rising Unrest and Political Fallout Clashes in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip erupted in the autumn of 2023, intensifying concerns that settlement expansion could solidify the Israeli presence and damage the possibility for a two-state solution. The two-state solution envisions the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, largely along the boundaries that were in place prior to the 1967 Middle East war. Since coming to power in 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has greatly accelerated the approval of new settlements and started the process of legalization for previously illegal outposts, classifying them as "extensions" of existing communities. A Pattern of Expansion The most recent decision takes the total number of settlements recognized over the past three years to sixty-nine, according to Smotrich. These approvals come a short time after the United Nations said that construction in settlements had attained its peak since the year 2017. The newest group of authorizations features the revival of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated almost 20 years ago. Earlier this year, Israel approved 22 new communities in the territories - labeled as the most significant wave of approvals in many years. In a related development, the Israeli government gave the go-ahead for blueprints in August to construct more than 3,000 residences in the so-called E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been frozen for many years amid strong global objection. On that occasion, Smotrich said it would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state." Population Realities and International Response Roughly seven hundred thousand Israeli settlers reside in approximately 160 communities in the occupied territories, according to the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a future sovereign nation. Settlement expansion has angered Arab nations who have repeatedly contended it undermines hopes for a two-state solution. It has furthermore fueled anxieties about the eventual incorporation of the disputed territories. Former American President Donald Trump had once admonished the Israeli leadership about annexation, telling TIME magazine that the country would forfeit all its support from the US if it proceeded. Recently, the UK - joined by other nations such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic change in government policy. Israel was against this step, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a Palestinian state "will not happen."