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The nation's top security body has given its endorsement to the recognition of 19 fresh outposts in the occupied West Bank, marking a sustained push for settlement expansion.

Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the measure in concert with Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the decision was about preventing the formation of a Palestinian state.

According to global statutes, Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are deemed in violation of international law.

The decision has elicited censure from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "persistent" growth of communities exacerbates tensions, curtails Palestinian access to territory, and undermines the viability of a sovereign Palestine.

Rising Tensions and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the conflict in Gaza erupted in the autumn of 2023, adding to concerns that the growth of communities could solidify the Israeli presence and undermine the prospects for a peaceful resolution based on two states.

The concept of two states involves the creation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its seat of government, broadly along the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.

Since taking office in late 2022, the incumbent government in Jerusalem has significantly increased the green-lighting of new settlements and started the legalisation process for informal outposts, classifying them as "suburbs" of established communities.

Ongoing Expansion

The latest decision takes the cumulative figure of settlements authorized over the last three years to 69, per the figures from Smotrich.

These authorizations come only a few days after the UN said that settlement expansion had hit its highest level since the year 2017.

The most recent batch of authorizations encompasses the re-establishment of two communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated about 20 years ago.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government approved 22 additional communities in the territories - labeled as the largest wave of approvals in decades.

In a related development, the Israeli government sanctioned projects last summer to build more than three thousand residences in the so-called E1 corridor between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been frozen for decades amid strong international opposition.

At that time, Smotrich said it would "end the concept of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Realities and Global Reactions

Approximately 700,000 settlers live in approximately one hundred and sixty communities in the occupied territories, according to the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that the Palestinian people aspire to have for a future sovereign nation.

This ongoing construction has drawn ire from Arab nations who have consistently said it harms prospects for a two-state solution.

It has furthermore sparked concerns about the eventual formal annexation of the disputed territories.

Former US President Donald Trump had once cautioned Israel about this step, stating to TIME magazine that Israel would forfeit 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 - formally recognized a State of Palestine, a significant although primarily ceremonial shift in official stance.

Israel was against this recognition, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that a sovereign Palestine "is off the table."