Overview
- The security cabinet approved 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Ganim and Kadim, which were evacuated under Israel’s 2005 disengagement plan.
- The decision combines retroactive legalization of previously unauthorized outposts with authorization of new sites, with watchdogs noting some are in densely populated Palestinian areas or on land from which Palestinians were removed.
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said approvals in recent years now total 69, while Peace Now counts recognized West Bank settlements rising from 141 in 2022 to about 210.
- Smotrich framed the move as blocking a future Palestinian state, as the United Nations and multiple governments condemned the expansion as unlawful under international law.
- The approval comes as Washington pushes the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire and a potential statehood pathway, alongside UN-documented spikes in settler attacks across the West Bank.