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The nation's top security body has given its endorsement to the formalization of nineteen additional outposts in the occupied West Bank, marking a sustained campaign for community development.

Far-right Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the step together with Defense Chief Israel Katz, stated that the approval was intended for thwarting the creation of a sovereign Palestine.

Under international law, Israeli settlements in the disputed territories are considered in violation of international law.

The move has elicited censure from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities fuels frictions, restricts Palestinians' use of land, and undermines the prospects of a independent Palestine.

Increased Tensions and Political Repercussions

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has increased sharply since the war in Gaza started in October 2023, intensifying concerns that the growth of communities could entrench Israel's occupation and damage the possibility for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states refers to the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, roughly along the boundaries that were in place before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Upon assuming leadership in 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has ramped up the green-lighting of new settlements and initiated the process of legalization for informal outposts, classifying them as "neighbourhoods" of existing communities.

Sustained Expansion

The most recent approval takes the total number of communities approved over the past three years to sixty-nine, per the figures from Smotrich.

These approvals come only a few days after the UN stated that settlement expansion had attained its highest level since 2017.

The newest round of approvals features the rebuilding of a pair of communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled about two decades ago.

Previously, Israel gave the nod to 22 new communities in the occupied West Bank - what was the most significant expansion in decades.

Additionally, the government sanctioned plans in August to build over 3,000 housing units in the so-called E1 area between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a plan that had been on hold for many years amid fierce international objection.

Regarding that plan, Smotrich stated it would "end the notion of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Facts and International Reactions

An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers live in about 160 communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israel-based anti-settlement group Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people seek for a future independent state.

This ongoing construction has drawn ire from neighboring countries who have repeatedly argued it harms prospects for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has also fueled fears about the eventual annexing of the disputed territories.

Former US President Donald Trump had previously cautioned Israel about annexation, stating to a publication that the country would lose its backing from the United States if it occurred.

Recently, the United Kingdom - joined by other countries such as Australia and Canada - acknowledged a State of Palestine, a significant although primarily ceremonial adjustment in government policy.

Israel strongly rejected the move, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "will not happen."