Overview

• The security cabinet decision retroactively legalizes 22 existing Jewish settlements across the occupied West Bank, including outposts in East Jerusalem that lacked formal authorization.
• Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the move as reclaiming ancestral heritage and signaled it would pave the way for full sovereignty measures.
• Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh denounced the approval as a dangerous escalation and urged international actors to uphold legitimacy and international law.
• Human rights group Peace Now warned the expansion will further entrench the occupation and move Israel closer to de facto annexation of Palestinian territory.
• Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain issued a joint communique reaffirming their commitment to a contiguous Palestinian state and warning that settlement growth undermines its viability.