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Israel's security cabinet has formally approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, signaling a ongoing campaign for settlement expansion.

Far-right Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the step alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, asserted that the approval was aimed at preventing the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

It is important to note that Jewish communities in the disputed territories are deemed unlawful.

The move has drawn condemnation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "unceasing" settlement expansion heightens frictions, limits Palestinians' access to land, and jeopardizes the viability of a independent Palestine.

Escalating Tensions and Diplomatic Fallout

Clashes in the region has surged since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip erupted in October 2023, further heightening concerns that the growth of communities could solidify Israel's occupation and undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution envisions the establishment of a State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along the boundaries that existed before the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Since coming to power in 2022, the present Israeli government has greatly accelerated the authorization of fresh communities and started the process of legalization for unauthorised settler outposts, designating them as "extensions" of established settlements.

Ongoing Growth

The most recent decision takes the cumulative figure of settlements recognized over the preceding 36 months to 69, according to the Finance Minister.

These decisions are announced just days after the UN said that settlement expansion had hit its most intense pace since 2017.

The most recent group of authorizations encompasses the rebuilding of a pair of communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed about two decades ago.

Earlier this year, Israel approved twenty-two new communities in the territories - what was the biggest expansion in many years.

In a related development, the Israeli government sanctioned projects last summer to build in excess of 3,000 residences in the controversial E1 project between the capital and the Maale Adumim settlement, a initiative that had been stalled for decades amid intense global condemnation.

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

Demographic Facts and International Response

An estimated 700,000 settlers live in around one hundred and sixty communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians aspire to have for a prospective independent state.

This ongoing construction has drawn ire from Arab states who have steadfastly argued it erodes prospects for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has also raised anxieties about the eventual formal annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Former US President Donald Trump had once admonished the Israeli leadership about such a move, telling a publication that the country would forfeit its backing from the United States if it happened.

In a diplomatic shift, the United Kingdom - along with other nations including Australia and Canada - acknowledged a State of Palestine, a notable although primarily ceremonial shift in government policy.

The Israeli government opposed this step, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "will not happen."