Israeli media report the decision grants legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including two evacuated nearly two decades ago under a previous disengagement plan.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israel’s cabinet has approved granting legal status to 19 Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media reports, a move that prompted sharp condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and renewed international scrutiny.
The decision, announced late Thursday, includes settlements that are newly established as well as older outposts, Israeli media reported. Among the 19 are two settlements that were vacated in 2005 as part of a disengagement plan led by then–Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, which aimed to improve Israel’s security and economic conditions.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the move on Friday. Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, a minister with the Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, said the decision represents another step toward erasing Palestinian geography and warned it raises serious concerns about the future of the West Bank.
The proposal to legalize the settlements was advanced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key figure in Israel’s right-wing governing coalition, along with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. The settlements are located in the West Bank, territory captured by Israel during the 1967 war and sought by Palestinians for a future independent state.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, and multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt settlement activity. Israel rejects that characterization, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Settlement construction has expanded in recent years, including the growth of some outposts built without prior official authorization. Critics say the expansion has fragmented the West Bank, separating Palestinian towns and cities and complicating prospects for a contiguous Palestinian state.
The two settlements included in the decision that were evacuated in 2005 were part of a broader disengagement plan that focused primarily on Gaza. Under that plan, all 21 Israeli settlements in Gaza were dismantled, while most settlements in the West Bank remained intact. The plan was strongly opposed at the time by parts of the settler movement.
The West Bank is home to an estimated 2.7 million Palestinians and has long been central to international efforts aimed at achieving a two-state solution, envisioning a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Tensions in the territory have continued to rise. According to the United Nations, Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians reached their highest recorded levels in October, with at least 264 incidents reported during the month.
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