Israel Approves New Settlements to Obstruct Palestinian State
Israel will build 22 new settlements in the West Bank including some along its eastern border with Jordan to strengthen its grip on the territory and block the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The plan, which has been approved by the security cabinet, comes as Israel is facing mounting pressure from European allies to end its 19-month war in Gaza, which has destroyed large parts of the coastal enclave, killed tens of thousands and sparked a hunger crisis. The expansion of settlements is a violation of international law, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
The move could harden attitudes against Israel ahead of a UN summit co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia in New York next month that aims to rally support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Homesh and Sa-Nur settlements in the northern West Bank, which were evacuated two decades ago when Israel disengaged from part of the territory and the Gaza Strip, will be reconstructed, Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Thursday.
Additional sites in the Jordan Rift Valley along Israel's eastern border, an area that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long considered a strategic stronghold, have been earmarked for development. Israel has also begun erecting a security fence that will run for some 400 kilometers along the entirety of its eastern border with Syria and Jordan, a project that was budgeted for in the government's latest fiscal plan.
About 500,000 Israelis, roughly 5% of the population, live in settlements in territory that was occupied more than five decades ago, with over half of them concentrated in 13 large communities in the West Bank.
Katz described the construction of the new settlements as a 'once-in-a-generation' development that would 'prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel, and serve as a buffer against our enemies.'
Bezalel Smotrich, a hard-line West Bank settler who serves as Israel's finance minister, called for the government to reassess the 'sovereignty' of the territory, an apparent reference to the option of annexing all or part of it.
Opposition within Israel to Palestinian independence has hardened since Hamas attacked the south of the country in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250.
Israel responded with an air and ground assault that has claimed the lives of more than 54,000 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which doesn't distinguish between between fighters and civilians. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union.
Spain, Norway and Ireland recognized a Palestinian State last year and Israel has been lobbying other European nations such as France and the UK not to follow suit.
The US, Israel's main ally, hasn't recently expressed a clear stance on the matter. While President Donald Trump's appointed officials have in the past advocated for Israel annexing the West Bank and Gaza, he has been purposely ambiguous about where he stands.
With assistance from John Bowker and Ethan Bronner.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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