TEL AVIV – On Sunday, Israel’s Cabinet gave its approval to a proposal for establishing 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, as announced by the country’s far-right Finance Minister. This decision marks a significant move in the ongoing settlement expansion efforts.

According to Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, the newly approved settlements include two that had been evacuated as part of a disengagement plan back in 2005. Smotrich, a strong advocate for settlement growth in the West Bank, has been at the forefront of these expansion efforts.

Smotrich shared on social media platform X that this recent approval brings the total number of new settlements established over the last two years to 69.

Peace Now, a group monitoring settlement activity, reported that this increase represents a nearly 50% jump in the number of settlements in the West Bank during the current government’s administration. The total has risen from 141 in 2022 to 210 following this latest decision. It is worth noting that these settlements are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

This development occurs amid the United States’ ongoing efforts to encourage Israel and Hamas to advance the new phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which has been in effect since October 10th. The U.S.-brokered plan outlines a potential “pathway” to establishing a Palestinian state, a prospect that these settlements aim to obstruct.

Furthermore, the Cabinet’s decision includes the retroactive legalization of certain previously established settlement outposts, as well as the creation of new settlements on land vacated by Palestinians, according to Peace Now.

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