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Israel Approves Largest West Bank Settlement Expansion in Decades
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Israel Approves Largest West Bank Settlement Expansion in Decades

Israel has given a green light to the largest expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank since the Oslo Accords were signed more than 30 years ago. In all, 22 new settlements are to be created, some deep in the West Bank and in zones it had removed from in the past. The decision was jointly made by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who stressed that it was part of a strategic, long-term plan.

 

Israel Approves Largest West Bank Settlement Expansion in Decades
By Oskar Malec | Last Updated: 29 May 2025

These conclude that these settlements are aimed at entrenching Israeli control of the West Bank, thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state and creating room for future settlement expansion.


Decisions Draw Fire from Peace Advocates
Peace advocacy groups have decried the move, saying the expansion reflects a push for de facto annexation rather than a move toward peace. The government, they announced, was demonstrating an overt preference for occupation and annexation over peace, at the hour of the war.


The expansion is widely seen as a major blow to the goals articulated in the 1993 Oslo Accords to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank with the P.L.O. in Ramallah, based on a two-state solution.


Continued Heightening of Tensions through Military Operations
Israel’s military, though, has been carrying out huge operations in the West Bank for months. Those have included deploying tanks to the region for the first time in years, the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians, and a series of arrests and raids in recent weeks.


Defense Minister Katz in February ordered the army to ready for long-term stay in the territory, focusing attention on Palestinian refugee camps. Those moves, alongside settlement expansions, are considered further cementing Israeli control of the West Bank, an area of land still highly disputed by international law.

 

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