Overview
- Israel’s security cabinet endorsed a plan on Sunday to establish 11 new settlements and legalize eight outposts in the occupied West Bank.
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz advanced the package, with Smotrich saying it is meant to block a Palestinian state.
- Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected a 14-nation rebuke, calling the criticism discriminatory and arguing the decision addresses security threats on state land.
- Germany, the UK, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and others urged Israel to reverse the approvals, warning of violations of international law and harm to the fragile Gaza ceasefire.
- UN reporting counts 47,390 settlement-related housing units advanced in 2025, a record that brings approved settlements over three years to 69 and deepens concerns over a viable two-state outcome.