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Israel's security cabinet has given its endorsement to the formalization of 19 additional settlements in the disputed West Bank, marking a ongoing campaign for settlement expansion.

Far-right Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and put forward the move together with Defence Minister Israel Katz, stated that the approval was about thwarting the establishment of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are considered in violation of international law.

The decision has sparked criticism from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities heightens frictions, restricts Palestinians' access to land, and jeopardizes the feasibility of a independent Palestine.

Escalating Unrest and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the region has surged since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip started in the autumn of 2023, intensifying apprehensions that the growth of communities could entrench the Israeli presence and undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution involves the formation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, roughly along the lines that were in place prior to the 1967 Middle East war.

Upon assuming leadership in late 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has greatly accelerated the approval of new settlements and started the formal recognition for previously illegal settler outposts, designating them as "neighbourhoods" of established settlements.

Sustained Expansion

The latest approval brings the overall count of settlements approved over the preceding 36 months to 69, according to Smotrich.

These approvals arrive just days after the UN said that settlement expansion had hit its most intense pace since 2017.

The newest group of approvals includes the rebuilding of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated nearly two decades ago.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government approved 22 new communities in the occupied West Bank - described as the largest wave of approvals in decades.

In a related development, the government gave the go-ahead for blueprints in August to erect over 3,000 residences in the controversial E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a initiative that had been on hold for many years amid intense global opposition.

Regarding that plan, the Finance Minister stated it would "bury the concept of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Realities and International Reactions

An estimated seven hundred thousand settlers reside in about 160 communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that Palestinians envision for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from Arab states who have consistently said it harms chances for a two-state solution.

It has also fueled fears about the eventual incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Ex- American President Donald Trump had previously warned the Israeli leadership about such a move, telling a publication that the country would lose its backing from the United States if it occurred.

In a diplomatic shift, the UK - together with other nations such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a significant although primarily ceremonial change in government policy.

The Israeli government strongly rejected this step, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."