In a significant escalation of its settlement policy, Israel has approved the establishment of 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. This decision, pushed by the country's far-right government, brings the total number of new settlements authorised in recent years to a record 69, directly challenging the viability of a future Palestinian state.
A Record Expansion Under Far-Right Leadership
The approval was confirmed by Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a staunch advocate for settlement expansion. This move increases the total number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% since the current coalition government took power. According to the anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, the number has risen from 141 in 2022 to 210 following this latest decision.
The security cabinet's decision includes the retroactive legalisation of several previously established settlement outposts. Notably, it also green-lights the creation of new settlements on land from which Palestinians were evacuated. Two of the newly approved settlements, Kadim and Ganim, were dismantled in 2005 as part of Israel's disengagement from Gaza. Their re-establishment follows the repeal of a 2005 law that barred Israelis from returning to these areas.
Settlements and Surge in Violence
This political drive for expansion coincides with a sharp rise in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During the critical olive harvest season in October, settlers launched an average of eight attacks per day – the highest rate since the United Nations began recording such data in 2006. The violence persisted into November, with the UN documenting at least 136 additional attacks by 24 November.
These attacks have involved the burning of vehicles, desecration of mosques, ransacking of industrial plants, and the widespread destruction of agricultural land. Critics argue that Israeli authorities have done little to curb this violence, often limiting their response to occasional statements of condemnation.
Broader Context and International Law
The settlement approval comes amid US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and establish a potential pathway to Palestinian statehood – a prospect that the settlement enterprise is widely seen as designed to prevent. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza in the 1967 war. Since then, it has moved over 500,000 Jewish settlers into the West Bank, with an additional 200,000 in East Jerusalem. The government is dominated by figures like Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are strong proponents of the settler movement.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high. The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah reported that two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old identified as Rayan Abu Muallah, were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the northern West Bank on Saturday night. The Israeli military stated the individuals were militants who attacked troops, though Palestinian footage of one incident is under review by the military.
Israeli military operations in the West Bank have intensified significantly since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. This latest settlement expansion signals a deepening entrenchment of Israel's presence in the territory, posing a major obstacle to any renewed peace negotiations.
