Israel’s security cabinet has approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government continues its settlement expansion push.
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.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Saudi Arabia condemned the move. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said Israel’s “relentless” settlement expansion fuels tensions, restricts Palestinian access to land, and threatens the viability of a sovereign Palestinian state. (BBC)