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The nation's security cabinet has given its endorsement to the recognition of 19 additional communities in the occupied Palestinian territories, marking a continued drive for territorial growth.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and put forward the measure together with Defense Chief Israel Katz, stated that the move was about blocking the formation of a Palestinian state.

According to global statutes, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal.

The move has sparked censure from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has commented that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities heightens frictions, limits Palestinians' use of land, and undermines the feasibility of a independent Palestinian state.

Rising Tensions and Political Fallout

Clashes in the region has increased sharply since the war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, further heightening fears that the growth of communities could solidify the Israeli presence and damage the chance for a two-state solution.

The concept of two states involves the creation of a State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, largely along the lines that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Since coming to power in late 2022, the incumbent Israeli government has significantly increased the green-lighting of new settlements and started the legalisation process for previously illegal outposts, classifying them as "extensions" of established settlements.

Sustained Growth

The most recent decision brings the overall count of communities recognized over the preceding 36 months to sixty-nine, according to the Finance Minister.

These authorizations are announced only a few days after the UN reported that settlement expansion had reached its peak since the year 2017.

The latest round of authorizations includes the rebuilding of a pair of settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled about 20 years ago.

In a previous move, Israel approved 22 additional settlements in the occupied West Bank - what was the largest expansion in decades.

Additionally, the government also approved plans last summer to build more than three thousand homes in the controversial E1 corridor between the capital and the Maale Adumim settlement, a initiative that had been stalled for decades amid fierce foreign opposition.

At that time, the Finance Minister said it would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Realities and International Response

An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers dwell in around 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people seek for a future independent state.

Settlement expansion has provoked neighboring countries who have repeatedly contended it erodes prospects for a two-state solution.

It has furthermore sparked concerns about the possible incorporation of the occupied West Bank.

Former American President Donald Trump had previously cautioned the Israeli leadership about this step, stating to TIME magazine that Israel would lose its backing from the US if it occurred.

In a diplomatic shift, the United Kingdom - together with other countries such as Australia and Canada - recognised a State of Palestine, a major although largely symbolic change in official stance.

The Israeli government opposed this recognition, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that a Palestinian state "is not going to occur."