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Israel's top security body has given its endorsement to the recognition of 19 new settlements in the contested Palestinian territories, signaling a ongoing campaign for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who put forward the measure together with Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the approval was about blocking the creation of a Palestinian state.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are deemed illegal.

The decision has drawn censure from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities heightens frictions, limits Palestinian access to land, and undermines the feasibility of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Escalating Tensions and Diplomatic Repercussions

Violence in the region has increased sharply since the conflict in Gaza erupted in October 2023, adding to fears that the growth of communities could entrench Israel's occupation and undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.

The concept of two states refers to the creation of a State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its seat of government, roughly along the boundaries that were in place before the 1967 Middle East war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the current Israeli government has ramped up the green-lighting of fresh communities and initiated the formal recognition for previously illegal outposts, recognising them as "extensions" of established settlements.

Sustained Growth

The most recent decision pushes the overall count of communities authorized over the preceding 36 months to 69, per the figures from Smotrich.

These approvals come only a few days after the UN said that settlement expansion had attained its highest level since the year 2017.

The latest round of approvals features the re-establishment of a pair of settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled almost two decades ago.

In a previous move, Israel approved 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank - what was the largest wave of approvals in many years.

Additionally, the government sanctioned plans last summer to erect more than 3,000 residences in the controversial E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim community, a plan that had been stalled for many years amid intense foreign condemnation.

On that occasion, the Finance Minister said it would "put to rest the concept of a Palestinian state."

Population Realities and International Response

An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers dwell in about 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that Palestinians envision for a prospective independent state.

This ongoing construction has provoked neighboring countries who have consistently argued it harms hopes for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has furthermore sparked concerns about the possible formal annexation of the disputed territories.

Ex- US President Donald Trump had previously admonished the Israeli leadership about this step, telling a publication that the country would forfeit all its support from the United States if it happened.

In a diplomatic shift, the UK - together with other countries including Australia and Canada - recognised a Palestinian state, a major although largely symbolic shift in foreign policy.

Israel opposed this step, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."