Israel security cabinet approves 22 settlements in occupied West Bank
May 29 (UPI) -- Israel unveiled plans Thursday for the most significant expansion of its presence in the occupied West Bank in years after approving 22 new Jewish settlements.
The scheme gives legal recognition to the 22 settlements, which already exist but are unofficial, said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Katz said the step would "prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel," but the Palestinian Authority and at least one anti-war group in Israel condemned the move.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the Israeli government's approval of the new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, a "dangerous escalation" that was an affront to international legitimacy and international law, including at least one U.N. Security Council Resolution.
He also called on Washington to intervene to halt "Israeli tampering" with what he said had implications for the entire region.
The Peace Now protest movement said the move would "dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further."
Israel's some 160 settlements on disputed land it has occupied for almost six decades since the 1967 Six-Day War with its Arab neighbors are illegal under international law. But Israel argues it has a legal claim on the grounds that the West Bank is fundamental to its security and for religious and historic reasons dating back to the Balfour Declaration and beyond.
Calling the settlement approvals "a historic decision," Smotrich dismissed criticism of the move, saying Israel was not seizing foreign lands but reclaiming "the inheritance of our fathers."
"This is a great day for settlement and an important day for the State of Israel. Through hard work and tenacious leadership, we have succeeded in creating a profound strategic change, returning the State of Israel to a path of construction, Zionism, and vision," he wrote in a post on X.
"Settlement in the land of our ancestors is the protective wall of the State of Israel -- today we have taken a huge step to strengthen it. The next step - sovereignty!" said Smotrich.
Katz and Smotrich's statements came hours after the governments of Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain issued a joint communique reaffirming their commitment to the implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Only a "viable, contiguous Palestinian State, with internationally recognized borders, comprised of Gaza and the West Bank and with East Jerusalem as its capital, can fully satisfy the legitimate national aspirations and the needs of peace and security" of both peoples, read the dispatch issued after the representatives of the four nations met Wednesday.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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