Israel says 22 new illegal settlements will be built in occupied West Bank

In response to the news, Hamish Falconer, Britain’s Minister for the Middle East, called Israel’s approval of the new settlements ‘a deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood’.

Writing on X, he noted that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law and stand as an obstacle to reaching a two-state solution. He added that they do not protect Israel from perceived threats.

B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, accused Israel’s right-wing government of advancing ‘Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.’

The organisation went on to criticise international officials for ‘enabling Israel’s crimes’ while the Israeli government ‘openly and blatantly work[s] to destroy the Palestinian people, and any chances for a normal future for the people living between the Jordan River and the sea.’

The settler movement traces back to 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War.

Around 160 settlements have been built since, housing 700,000 Israeli settlers alongside 3.3 million Palestinians.

Settlement activity in the West Bank has increased drastically since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israel has also stepped up military operations in the West Bank and settler attacks on Palestinian residents have increased.

These attacks have focused on refugee camps in volatile northern cities including Jenin and Tulkarm, with the UN reporting this has displaced more than 400,000 Palestinians.

Many Palestinians see the expansion of settlements as a manifestation of their fears that Israel will take over all of the West Bank. This fear is not unfounded, with leading ministers of Netanyahu’s government openly calling for the area’s annexation.

For example, pro-settler Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have openly called for the annexation the West Bank and the displacement of large sections of the Palestinian population.

The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called the plan of expansion ‘the most extensive move of its kind’ in more than 30 years. If it goes ahead, the organisation says it would ‘dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further.’