Israel approves construction of 19 new settlements in the West Bank

(Patria) - Israeli authorities announced today that they have approved the construction of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, a policy that has intensified since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with the stated goal of "blocking the establishment of a terrorist Palestinian state".

This will bring the total number of approved settlements in the past three years to 69, according to a statement from the office of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is himself a settler and an advocate for the annexation of the West Bank, occupied by Israel in 1967.

The announcement came days after a report by the United Nations Secretary-General documenting a record increase in Israeli settlements.

"The government's Security Cabinet has approved the proposal of Minister Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz to declare and formalize 19 new settlements in Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

We are blocking the establishment of a terrorist Palestinian state on the ground. We will continue to develop, build, and settle the land of our ancestors," Smotrich's office announced.

Apart from East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and annexed, more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in settlements in the West Bank, which the UN considers illegal under international law.

Settlement construction has continued under every Israeli government since 1967, and has significantly intensified under the current administration, especially since the start of the war in Gaza, which broke out on October 7, 2023, with an unprecedented incursion by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas into Israel.