Overview

• Israel’s security cabinet authorized the establishment or legalization of 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including previously unauthorized outposts.
• Defense Minister Israel Katz described the expansion as securing strategic depth by preventing a Palestinian state that he said would threaten Israel’s security.
• The UK along with other European governments condemned the move as illegal under international law, casting it as an obstacle to reviving a two-state solution.
• Palestinian Authority spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the approval a “dangerous escalation” that affronts international legitimacy.
• Human rights groups warn the decision further entrenches Israel’s military occupation of over 3 million Palestinians, complicating an upcoming international peace conference.