Israel announces expansion of West Bank settlements
Photo: AP
Israel announced on Thursday that it would establish 22 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including legalizing outposts built without authorization.
The move is likely to further strain ties with allies that have been critical of Israel's actions in Gaza.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, and the UN's top court last year called for construction to stop immediately — a ruling denounced by Israel.
The announcement comes as human rights groups and anti-settlement NGOs say Israel is moving toward at least de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.
What has Israel said about the settlements?
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is himself a settler, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who is in charge of managing the communities, made the announcement.
Katz said the settlement decision "strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria, anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism."
He added it was also "a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel."
In a statement on Telegram, the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the initiative had been led by Smotrich and Katz.
Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers.
What has been the reaction to the announcement?
The Palestinian Authority, which administers population centers in the occupied West Bank, described the move as a "dangerous escalation."
"This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters news agency.
Human rights group Peace Now has said the move shows that the Israeli government has the goal of annexing the territory.
"The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal," it said in a statement.
It added that the move would "dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation."
Earlier this month, Britain, France and Canada threatened to impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to expand settlements.
Some settlers have already been sanctioned in the past for attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.
Obstacle to two-state solution
Israel has pushed ahead with faster settlement construction in recent years, meaning that the 3 million Palestinians living in the territory are being relegated to ever smaller areas.
This makes the prospect of establishing an independent Palestinian state even more remote.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Six-Day War, and the Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.
An international conference to be led by France and Saudi Arabia at UN headquarters in New York next month is meant to breathe new life into the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But Thursday's announcement, and recent suggestions by leading figures in the Israeli government that settlements be reestablished in the Gaza Strip, are likely to weigh against the chances of such a solution in the near future.
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It weaponised civilian logistics, remotely carrying out the attacks without any of its personnel being carried out two of the world's most complex special missions — the hostage rescue at Entebbe airport, Uganda in July 1976, where over 100 Israeli soldiers flew over 3000 km across hostile territory to rescue 106 Israeli passengers, killing the terrorists and destroying one-fourth of the Ugandan Air Force on the ground. In 2023, Mossad booby-trapped pagers in 2023 to kill and wound over 1000 Hezbollah operatives in largest special forces operation. Operation Jackpot, planned by the Indian Navy and carried out by Mukti Bahini naval commandos on the night of August 15, 1971, simultaneously attacked four Pakistani ports across (then) East Pakistan, sinking and damaging 22 merchant ships. The attacks were carried out at four ports — Chittagong, Chalna-Mongla, Narayanganj and Chandpur — in a 500 square km box.2. DENIABILITYThe Russia-Ukraine war, it can be argued, is a proxy war between Moscow and NATO. Ukrainian soldiers fight on the ground using Western-supplied weapons and communications gear. These have been sore points for Russia, which has threatened to attack NATO bases and ammunition dumps in Spider's Web however, Ukraine has emphasised that the attacks were carried out on its own without NATO / Western support. President Volodomyr Zelenesky emphasised in a post on X that the 'result was achieved solely by Ukraine'. This was done to minimise potential fallout on the West. The attack used Ukrainian drones and was quickly owned up by the Ukrainian government. No Western-supplied weapons like the long-range Taurus missiles were used. Ukraine released images to show they used commercially available high-resolution satellite imagery to target the bombers parked in the open.3. 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In 2021, Pakistani non-state actors struck at an Indian air base in attack saw two quadcopter sized drones dropping two improvised explosive devices which exploded without killing anyone. It was a warning shot because the attackers missed several helicopters parked in the open. The composition of the IED- a military-grade shaped charge - suggested state involvement in the attack. Pakistan could use similar tactics to carry out mass, simultaneous strikes on Indian airbases and other installations. Aircraft and helicopters are most vulnerable when they are parked on the ground, and in the open. The easy availability of commercial satellite imagery means the location of all aircraft and warships and submarines is easily is an urgent need for all military aircraft to be covered in blast-proof structures. All air bases must be secured with multiple indigenous counter-UAS systems.
