Israel has signed off on another round of settlement growth in the occupied West Bank, formally recognizing 19 additional sites despite mounting international criticism. Far-right.
Israel has signed off on another round of settlement growth in the occupied West Bank, formally recognizing 19 additional sites despite mounting international criticism. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler leader who advanced the plan with Defense Minister Israel Katz, framed the move Sunday as part of a strategy to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, the BBC reports. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal under international law by most nations, and they’re illegal under Israeli law, per CNN. Saudi Arabia denounced the decision, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that continued settlement expansion heightens tensions, limits Palestinian access to land, and jeopardizes prospects for Palestinian statehood.
