Israel has approved the construction of 19 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, citing the move as a measure to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, while Arab countries and the United Nations have jointly criticized the decision.
Foreign news agencies reported that on Sunday, 21 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Israel’s security cabinet approved the construction of 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government continues to push forward settlement expansion.
Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Finance Minister who is also a settler and one of the initiators of this move alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, stated that the decision aims to obstruct the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Saudi Arabia condemned this action, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that the "unrelenting" expansion of Israeli settlements exacerbates tensions, restricts Palestinian access to land, and undermines the possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state.
This latest development comes amid escalating violence in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023, intensifying concerns that Jewish settlement expansion could deepen Israeli occupation and diminish prospects for a two-state political solution.
The "two-state solution" refers to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the borders existing before the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 (B.E. 2510).
Since assuming office in 2022, the current Israeli government has significantly increased approvals for new settlements and begun legalizing unauthorized outposts by designating them as "residential neighborhoods" of existing settlements.
Smotrich noted that this latest decision raises the number of approved settlements in the past three years to 69.
This approval comes just days after the United Nations reported that Jewish settlement expansion has reached its highest level since 2017, with approximately 700,000 settlers living in about 160 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem—areas Palestinians hope to use for a future independent state.
Additionally, the latest approval includes reviving two old settlements, Ganim and Kadim, which were dismantled nearly 20 years ago.
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Source:bbc