Israel Approves 19 New Settlements in West Bank to Block Palestinian Statehood

Israel’s Security Cabinet has officially approved a proposal to establish 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The move, announced by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday (December 21, 2025), is being seen as a major step toward de facto annexation of the territory.

Smotrich stated that the decision aims to “block the creation of a Palestinian state” and strengthen Israel’s control over what he described as ancestral land. The approval includes the retroactive legalization of several existing outposts and the re-establishment of settlements like Ganim and Kadim, which were dismantled back in 2005.

With this latest decision, the total number of organized settlements approved by the current government over the past three years has reached 69. Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog, noted that this increases the total number of settlements in the West Bank to 210, a nearly 50% rise since 2022.

The move has drawn sharp international condemnation, as all settlements on occupied land are considered illegal under international law. UN Secretary-General António Guterres previously warned that settlement expansion in 2025 has reached its highest level since monitoring began in 2017.