Israel authorises more Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank

Israel said on Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the settlement decision "strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,” using the biblical term for the West Bank, "anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism.”

He added it was also "a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.”

Smoke rises during an Israeli army operation in Jenin, West Bank. File/Reuters

Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small hilltop outposts to fully developed communities with apartment blocks, shopping malls, factories and public parks.

The West Bank is home to 3 million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship.

Israel has accelerated settlement construction in recent years - long before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in Gaza -- confining Palestinians to smaller and smaller areas of the West Bank and making the prospect of establishing a viable, independent state even more remote.

Associated Press