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Israel's top security body has formally approved the recognition of nineteen additional communities in the disputed West Bank, marking a ongoing campaign for territorial growth.

Hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement and proposed the move in concert with Defence Minister Israel Katz, declared that the decision was intended for thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Under international law, Jewish communities in the occupied West Bank are deemed unlawful.

The decision has elicited condemnation from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "relentless" growth of communities heightens frictions, restricts Palestinian use of land, and undermines the viability of a sovereign Palestine.

Increased Unrest and Political Repercussions

Clashes in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the war in Gaza started in the autumn of 2023, adding to apprehensions that the growth of communities could entrench the Israeli presence and undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution involves the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its seat of government, roughly along the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war.

Since taking office in 2022, the current Israeli government has ramped up the authorization of fresh communities and begun the legalisation process for unauthorised outposts, designating them as "extensions" of established communities.

Ongoing Expansion

The most recent approval brings the total number of communities authorized over the preceding 36 months to sixty-nine, according to Smotrich.

These approvals arrive only a few days after the UN stated that construction in settlements had reached its peak since the year 2017.

The latest round of authorizations features the re-establishment of a pair of communities — Ganim and Kadim — which were evacuated nearly 20 years ago.

Previously, Israel approved 22 new communities in the occupied West Bank - labeled as the biggest expansion in decades.

In a related development, the Israeli government also approved blueprints last summer to build more than 3,000 homes in the controversial E1 project between the capital and the Maale Adumim community, a project that had been on hold for decades amid fierce global objection.

At that time, Smotrich said it would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."

Population Facts and International Reactions

Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers live in approximately 160 communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as per data from the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is land that the Palestinian people seek for a future independent state.

Settlement expansion has provoked Arab nations who have steadfastly contended it erodes chances for a two-state solution.

It has furthermore fueled fears about the eventual annexing of the occupied West Bank.

Former American President Donald Trump had previously admonished the Israeli leadership about this step, stating to TIME magazine that Israel would forfeit its backing from the US if it proceeded.

Recently, the UK - together with other countries such as Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although primarily ceremonial adjustment in government policy.

The Israeli government opposed this step, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that a Palestinian state "is off the table."