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The nation's defense cabinet has given its endorsement to the establishment of nineteen additional settlements in the disputed Palestinian territories, marking a continued campaign for territorial growth.

Hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who put forward the step alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the decision was intended for preventing the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

According to global statutes, Jewish communities in the disputed territories are viewed as unlawful.

The decision has drawn criticism from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "persistent" settlement expansion heightens tensions, limits Palestinian use of land, and threatens the prospects of a independent Palestine.

Rising Tensions and Political Fallout

Clashes in the region has increased sharply since the conflict in Gaza started in October 2023, adding to apprehensions that the growth of communities could solidify the Israeli presence and damage the possibility for a two-state solution.

The concept of two states involves the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, roughly along the boundaries that were in place prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Since taking office in 2022, the present Israeli government has greatly accelerated the approval of new settlements and initiated the legalisation process for informal outposts, classifying them as "neighbourhoods" of existing communities.

Sustained Expansion

The latest approval pushes the total number of communities approved over the last three years to 69, per the figures from Minister Smotrich.

These approvals arrive just days after the UN said that construction in settlements had reached its highest level since 2017.

The latest batch of approvals features the revival of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed nearly two decades ago.

Previously, the Israeli government approved twenty-two additional communities in the territories - labeled as the most significant expansion in decades.

Additionally, the Israeli government also approved blueprints in August to construct over 3,000 homes in the so-called E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a project that had been on hold for decades amid intense foreign condemnation.

Regarding that plan, the Finance Minister said it would "put to rest the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and International Reactions

Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers reside in about one hundred and sixty settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people envision for a future independent state.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from neighboring countries who have steadfastly argued it undermines chances for a two-state solution.

It has also sparked fears about the potential incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Former American President Donald Trump had previously warned the Israeli leadership about such a move, telling a publication that Israel would forfeit its backing from the United States if it proceeded.

Recently, the United Kingdom - joined by other countries such as Australia and Canada - recognised a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic adjustment in official stance.

Israel opposed this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a sovereign Palestine "is off the table."