Overview

• On May 29, the security cabinet authorized the creation of 22 Jewish settlements across the occupied West Bank, including reestablishing Homesh and Sa-Nur evacuated in 2005
• Officials describe the plan as a historic move to reshape Israel’s presence in the West Bank, continuing a settlement drive that intensified after the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023
• The United Nations and numerous governments have condemned the initiative as illegal under international law and a major barrier to a viable Palestinian state
• Hamas denounced the announcement as a “flagrant challenge to international will” and the UK Foreign Office warned it threatens the two-state solution
• The settlement approval comes ahead of a UN-hosted peace conference co-presided by France and Saudi Arabia in June aimed at reviving Israeli-Palestinian negotiations