Israeli Cabinet Approves 19 New Jewish Settlements In The Occupied West Bank

TEL AVIV: The Israeli Cabinet approved proposals for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, the far-right finance minister said.

The settlements include two that were previously evacuated during the secession plan in 2005, according to Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, who has pushed the West Bank settlement expansion agenda.

This brings the total number of new settlements in the past two years to 69, Smotrich wrote in X.

The approval would increase the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% during the current government’s term, from 141 to 210 by 2022, according to anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law.

The approval comes as the United States is pushing Israel and Hamas to move into a new phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which will take effect on October 10. The US-brokered plan calls for a possible “pathway” to a Palestinian state, something the settlements aim to prevent.

Peace Now said the Cabinet decision included the retroactive legalization of some previously established settlement outposts and the creation of settlements on land from which Palestinians were evacuated.