TEL AVIV: Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday approved the establishment of 19 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that drew international criticism.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the expansion was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The latest approvals bring the total number of illegal settlements authorised over the past three years to 69, according to a statement from Smotrich’s office.
The move follows a United Nations warning that Israeli illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank has reached its highest level since at least 2017.
All Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory are considered illegal under international law.
UN chief condemns illegal settlements
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Israel’s “relentless” expansion, warning it “continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian state.”
A UN report noted that Israel added an average of 12,815 illegal housing units annually between 2017 and 2022.
Guterres described this as a “sharp increase” and said it entrenched the unlawful occupation, violating international law and undermining Palestinian self-determination.
Trump warns Israel
US President Donald Trump has warned Israel that annexing the West Bank could jeopardise American support.
“Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened,” Trump told Time magazine in a recent interview.
Several European countries, Canada, and Australia have moved to formally recognise a Palestinian state since the start of the Israeli bombardment campaign in Gaza in October 2023.
Israeli illegal settler violence in the West Bank has surged since the launch of the bombardment campaign in Gaza.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, at least 1,027 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or illegal settlers in the West Bank since the bombardment campaign began in Gaza.
On Saturday, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, Rayyan Mohammad Abu Mualla, was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the Jenin area of the northern West Bank, Al Jazeera reported.
Witnesses, cited by Al Jazeera, said the soldier barred Red Crescent ambulances from reaching the boy, leaving him bleeding.
Ceasefire talks face hurdles
Meanwhile, international efforts to uphold the Gaza ceasefire that took effect on October 10 are under strain.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israeli violations are making it “incredibly more difficult” to advance the peace plan, TRT World reported.
Fidan said, “Especially as Turkiye, we clearly stated that ceasefire violations by Israel are endangering the peace plan and creating major risks for transitioning to the second phase.”
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey in Miami on Saturday to review the first stage of the ceasefire.
Top officials from each nation met with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, to review the first stage of the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.
“We reaffirm our full commitment to the entirety of the President’s 20-point peace plan and call on all parties to uphold their obligations, exercise restraint, and cooperate with monitoring arrangements,” said a statement posted by Witkoff on X.
Their meeting came amid continuing strains on the agreement.
Gaza’s civil defence said six people were killed on Friday in Israeli shelling of a shelter. That brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire deal took effect to 400.
Saturday’s statement cited progress yielded in the first stage of the peace agreement, including expanded humanitarian assistance, return of hostage bodies, partial force withdrawals and a reduction in hostilities.
