by Abby Chitty and AP
It’s published •update
Israel says it plans to build 22 new settlements on the occupied West Bank. This is a move that involves officially recognizing many unauthorized forward posts already built without approval from the Israeli government.
Israel’s anti-settling organization Peace reports that the plan involves legalizing 12 existing front posts, building nine new settlements, and designating neighbours within the existing settlement as independent settlements.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the new reconciliation initiative “strengthens our sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” and used Israeli biblical references in the West Bank.
He described the decision as a strategic measure that “consolidates our historical rights” and as a “solid response to Palestinian terrorism.”
Gallant further argued that the expansion of the settlement would help prevent the formation of a Palestinian state.
Peace now criticizes the move as the most drastic since the 1993 Oslo Accord, laying the foundation for a now-mitigated peace process.
The group warned that the decision would reconstruct the landscape of the West Bank and deepen Israeli occupation.
The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, seized by Israel in the six-day war of 1967, are the centers of Palestinian aspirations for a nation.
Under Israeli military control and limited system of Palestinian authorities governance, around 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank.
Peace now accused the Israeli government of abandoning its pretense of pursuing a solution for the two states.
“The government makes it clear that it prefers to effectively annex the profession and pursue peace without restricting detention multiple times,” the group said.
The West Bank now hosts more than 500,000 Israeli settlers living in more than 100 settlements, ranging from modest front-post bases to large towns with modern infrastructure.
Most international communities view Israeli settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving conflicts that have been decades ago.
Nevertheless, Israel has accelerated the construction of settlements in recent years, and since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, it has escalated the demolition of houses and seizures of land, forcing many Palestinian families to evacuate.
The expansion steadily limits Palestinian mobility and access to the land, making the viability of a future Palestinian state increasingly unlikely.
Under President Donald Trump, US policies have changed dramatically to support Israel’s claims on occupied territories, including measures to justify settlements.
President Joe Biden had expressed his opposition to the growth of the settlement, but his administration refrained from putting much pressure on Israel to stop the practice.
The UN’s highest court ruled last year that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory was illegal and called for it to end it and immediately halt the construction of a settlement.
Israel has denounced the non-binding opinion by a panel of 15 judges at the International Court of Justice, stating that the territory is part of the historic Jewish hometown.
