Israel approves 19 new West Bank settlements, moves to block Palestinian state

Israel’s security cabinet has approved recognition and establishment of 19 Jewish settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced today. Smotrich said the move was designed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, a rationale that reflects a broader policy direction of the current government.

The package formalizes a range of sites, including previously unauthorized outposts, neighborhoods carved off from existing settlements, and some locations on land that had been cleared of Palestinian residents. The resolution was proposed by Smotrich together with Defence Minister Israel Katz. Smotrich’s office said the internal cabinet decision was taken on December 11 and that elements of it were classified until their recent disclosure. Government records place the internal approval on December 12 in some instances, leaving a discrepancy over the exact internal date that officials have not resolved publicly.

Officials presented the approvals as part of a sustained expansion campaign. Smotrich’s office reported that the 19 additions bring the total number of settlements formally approved over the past three years to 69. The watchdog group Peace Now said the number of Israeli settlements in the West Bank rose from 141 in 2022 to 210 after the latest approvals, a near fifty percent increase during the tenure of the far right led government. The finance ministry has added a budgetary commitment of roughly NIS 2.7 billion, about 841 million US dollars, over five years for settlement expansion and legalization of outposts erected without permits.

The legal architecture supporting the expansion has been altered in recent years. In March 2023 the government enacted legislation annulling clauses that had led to the evacuation of four settlements, a move that officials said cleared a path for their return. Other major projects advanced by the government include plans to build more than 3,000 homes in the contested E1 area east of Jerusalem, a development that has long been opposed by many international actors.

International law and United Nations bodies regard settlement activity in the occupied West Bank as illegal and have warned that expansion undermines prospects for a negotiated two state solution. A recent United Nations finding said settlement construction has reached its highest level since at least 2017. Domestically, civil society groups are documenting the pace of construction and some polls show public unease with large elements of the settlement expansion budget.

The decision marks a clear acceleration of settlement policy under the current administration, consolidating control over territory at the expense of Palestinian territorial contiguity. The move is likely to increase diplomatic friction with Western partners, to deepen legal challenges at home and abroad, and to intensify tensions on the ground for Palestinians living adjacent to newly authorized sites. With elements of the cabinet decision still partially classified, questions about transparency and the full scope of implementation remain unresolved even as the approvals proceed.