{"id":45528,"date":"2025-12-21T14:53:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T14:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=45528"},"modified":"2025-12-21T14:53:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T14:53:50","slug":"cqjg18xe0wwoat_mediumrssat_campaignrss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/12\/21\/cqjg18xe0wwoat_mediumrssat_campaignrss\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel approves 19 new settlements in occupied West Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Israel&#8217;s security cabinet has approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government continues its settlement expansion push.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the move alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, said the decision was about blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Saudi Arabia condemned the move. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said Israel&#8217;s &#8220;relentless&#8221; settlement expansion fuels tensions, restricts Palestinian access to land, and threatens the viability of a sovereign Palestinian state. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Violence in the occupied West Bank has surged since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, further heightening fears that settlement expansion could entrench Israel&#8217;s occupation and undermine a two-state solution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Since taking office in 2022, the current Israeli government has significantly increased the approval of new settlements and begun the legalisation process for unauthorised outposts, recognising them as &#8220;neighbourhoods&#8221; of existing settlements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The most recent decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to Smotrich.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The approvals come just days after the United Nations said settlement expansion had reached its highest level since 2017. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The latest approvals include the re-establishment of two settlements \u2014 Ganim and Kadim \u2014 which were dismantled nearly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In May, Israel approved 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank &#8211; the biggest expansion in decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The Israeli government also approved plans in August to build more than 3,000 homes in the so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, which had been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition internationally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Smotrich at the time said the plan would &#8220;bury the idea of a Palestinian state&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">About 700,000 settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. It is land Palestinians seek for a future independent state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Settlement expansion has angered Arab nations who have consistently said it undermines prospects for a two-state solution. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">It has also raised concerns about the possible annexing of the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">US President Donald Trump had warned Israel about such a move, telling TIME magazine that Israel would lose all its support from the US if it happened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In September, the UK &#8211; along with other countries including Australia and Canada &#8211; recognised a Palestinian state, a significant although symbolic change in government policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Israel opposed the move, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying a Palestinian state &#8220;will not happen&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Israel #approves #settlements #occupied #West #Bank<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel&#8217;s security cabinet has approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government continues&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45530,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45528\/revisions\/45530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}