Israel announces creation of 22 new settlements in West Bank

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday the creation in the occupied West Bank of 22 new settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

"We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing settlement in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel," the minister said on X, using the Israeli term for the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

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

"Next step: sovereignty!" Smotrich said.

In a statement on Telegram, the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move a "once-in-a-generation decision", saying the initiative had been led by Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz and approved by the security cabinet.

"The decision also includes the establishment of four communities along the eastern border with Jordan, as part of strengthening Israel's eastern backbone, national security and strategic grip on the area," it said.

The party published a map showing the 22 sites spread across the territory.

In a statement, Hamas condemned the move as "further confirmation that the criminal Zionist occupation continues to impose facts on the ground by accelerating steps to Judaize Palestinian land within a clear annexation project".

"This is a blatant defiance of the international will and a grave violation of international law and United Nations resolutions," said the Palestinian militant group which rules Gaza.

Western ally Jordan too condemned the Israeli move, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law" that "undermines prospects for peace by entrenching the occupation".

The Jordanian foreign ministry warned that "such unilateral actions further erode the viability of a two-state solution by impeding the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state".

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 centres. 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.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are condemned by the United Nations as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The announcement comes ahead of an international conference to be led by France and Saudi Arabia at the UN headquarters in New York next month, which is meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It also comes after US envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday he had "very good feelings" about the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, adding that he expected to send out a new proposal imminently.