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Israel's top security body has formally approved the recognition of nineteen fresh settlements in the contested Palestinian territories, marking a continued drive for territorial growth.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who advocated for the step together with Defense Chief Israel Katz, asserted that the move was intended for thwarting the formation of a Palestinian state.

Under international law, Jewish communities in the disputed territories are viewed as in violation of international law.

The announcement has sparked censure from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities heightens frictions, restricts Palestinian access to land, and threatens the prospects of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Rising Tensions and Political Fallout

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has increased sharply since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, intensifying fears that the growth of communities could entrench the Israeli presence and weaken the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The two-state solution involves the creation of a State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, roughly along the borders that existed prior to the 1967 Six-Day Middle East war.

Upon assuming leadership in late 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has significantly increased the authorization of new settlements and started the legalisation process for unauthorised outposts, classifying them as "suburbs" of existing communities.

Sustained Growth

The latest approval takes the total number of communities approved over the last three years to 69, according to the Finance Minister.

These authorizations are announced a short time after the United Nations said that settlement expansion had reached its peak since the year 2017.

The latest round of authorizations features the revival of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated almost two decades ago.

In a previous move, Israel gave the nod to 22 new communities in the territories - described as the biggest expansion in decades.

Additionally, the government sanctioned projects last summer to erect more than three thousand residences in the controversial E1 project between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a initiative that had been frozen for decades amid strong international objection.

At that time, the Finance Minister remarked it would "end the concept of a Palestinian state."

Population Realities and Global Reactions

An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers live in around one hundred and sixty communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israel-based monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians aspire to have for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from neighboring countries who have consistently contended it erodes prospects for a peaceful two-state outcome.

It has furthermore fueled anxieties about the possible annexing of the occupied West Bank.

Former US President Donald Trump had once admonished Israel about this step, telling a publication that Israel would lose all its support from the US if it proceeded.

In a diplomatic shift, the United Kingdom - joined by other countries such as Australia and Canada - recognised a State of Palestine, a significant although largely symbolic adjustment in official stance.

The Israeli government was against this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu asserting that a sovereign Palestine "will not happen."