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Israel's security cabinet has formally approved the establishment of nineteen new communities in the contested Palestinian territories, signaling a ongoing campaign for territorial growth.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the move alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, stated that the move was about thwarting the establishment of a sovereign Palestine.

It is important to note that Jewish communities in the disputed territories are deemed illegal.

The announcement has sparked condemnation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has previously stated that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities fuels frictions, limits Palestinians' use of land, and jeopardizes the prospects of a sovereign Palestine.

Escalating Unrest and Diplomatic Fallout

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has surged since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip started in the autumn of 2023, intensifying fears that settlement expansion could entrench the Israeli presence and weaken the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states envisions the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, largely along the borders that existed prior to the 1967 Middle East war.

Upon assuming leadership in late 2022, the present government in Jerusalem has ramped up the approval of new settlements and initiated the process of legalization for previously illegal settler outposts, designating them as "suburbs" of existing settlements.

Sustained Expansion

The latest decision brings the cumulative figure of settlements approved over the preceding 36 months to 69, according to Smotrich.

These approvals come just days after the United Nations reported that settlement expansion had attained its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The newest group of authorizations encompasses the revival of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were removed about in 2005.

Previously, Israel gave the nod to 22 additional communities in the occupied West Bank - labeled as the most significant expansion in decades.

Furthermore, the government gave the go-ahead for projects last summer to construct over three thousand residences in the controversial E1 project between the capital and the Maale Adumim settlement, a initiative that had been frozen for decades amid fierce foreign condemnation.

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

Demographic Facts and Global Reactions

Roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers reside in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians envision for a prospective independent state.

Settlement expansion has drawn ire from neighboring countries who have repeatedly argued it harms hopes for a two-state solution.

It has also raised fears about the potential annexing of the disputed territories.

Former American President Donald Trump had previously admonished Israel about such a move, telling TIME magazine that Israel would forfeit all its support from the United States if it occurred.

In a policy change, the UK - together with other countries including Australia and Canada - acknowledged a Palestinian state, a significant although primarily ceremonial adjustment in official stance.

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