The Israeli government has approved the construction of 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, marking the largest expansion in decades. The move has been met with widespread criticism, with many viewing it as a significant obstacle to Palestinian statehood.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the decision “prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel,” adding that it was a “Zionist, security, and national response – and a clear decision on the future of the country.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist leader and settler, called it a “once-in-a-generation decision” and declared, “Next step sovereignty!”
However, Palestinian officials have condemned the move, with a spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas describing it as a “dangerous escalation” that would drag the region into a “cycle of violence and instability.” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, “This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.”
International criticism has also been swift, with Jordan’s foreign ministry condemning the move as a “flagrant violation of international law” that “undermines prospects for peace by entrenching the occupation.” UK Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer said the expansion was “a deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood.”
The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now has warned that the move would “dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further.” Lior Amihai, director of Peace Now, said, “The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal.”
The expansion is seen as a significant blow to renewed efforts to revive momentum on a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The International Court of Justice has previously ruled that Israeli settlements are “unlawful” and that Israel should “evacuate all settlers.”
The expansionist agenda of Israel in defiance to existing Court order is likely to elicit sanctions from other States on the international scene.