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The nation's top security body has formally approved the recognition of nineteen additional settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, signaling a ongoing push for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the move in concert with Defense Chief Israel Katz, declared that the decision was aimed at blocking the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Jewish communities in the disputed territories are considered illegal.

The announcement has elicited condemnation from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "relentless" growth of communities exacerbates frictions, limits Palestinians' access to land, and threatens the viability of a sovereign Palestine.

Increased Unrest and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the hostilities in Gaza erupted in October 2023, adding to concerns that settlement expansion could solidify Israel's occupation and damage the chance for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution refers to the formation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its seat of government, roughly along the borders that were in place before the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has ramped up the approval of new settlements and started the formal recognition for informal outposts, classifying them as "neighbourhoods" of established settlements.

Sustained Expansion

The latest decision brings the cumulative figure of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, per the figures from Smotrich.

These approvals come just days after the UN said that construction in settlements had reached its peak since 2017.

The newest round of authorizations features the revival of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed nearly in 2005.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government gave the nod to 22 new communities in the occupied West Bank - labeled as the largest wave of approvals in many years.

In a related development, the Israeli government gave the go-ahead for blueprints in August to build over three thousand housing units in the controversial E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been on hold for many years amid strong foreign opposition.

Regarding that plan, Smotrich remarked it would "put to rest the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and Global Reactions

Approximately 700,000 settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a prospective independent state.

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

It has also raised concerns about the possible formal annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Ex- American President Donald Trump had once cautioned Israel about such a move, telling TIME magazine that the country would forfeit its backing from the US if it proceeded.

In a diplomatic shift, the UK - along with other nations such as Australia and Canada - acknowledged a State of Palestine, a notable although primarily ceremonial shift in foreign policy.

Israel was against the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a Palestinian state "is off the table."