Israel's government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, its finance minister said on Thursday (May 29), a move condemned by Israeli human rights groups that may strain ties with key allies that have threatened sanctions.
Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition who has long advocated for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the settlements would be located in the northern West Bank, without specifying exactly where.
Israeli media cited the Defense Ministry as saying that among the new settlements, existing "outposts" would be legalized under Israeli law and new settlements would also be built.
A spokesperson for Defense Minister Israel Katz did not respond to a text message seeking comment on the announcement.
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The Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited rule in the West Bank, and the largely Gaza-based Islamist militant group condemned the Israeli decision.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a "dangerous escalation," accusing Israel of continuing to drag the region into a "cycle of violence and instability."
Palestinians regard the expansion of settlements as a hindrance to their aspirations to create an independent state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
There is a growing list of European countries demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, while Britain, France and Canada warned Israel this month that they could impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to broaden settlement in the West Bank.
Britain's Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, condemned Israel's approval of new settlements, calling it a "deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood."
Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal. The Israeli government deems settlements legal under its own laws, while some so-called "outposts" are illegal but often tolerated and sometimes later legalized.
B'Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, accused the right-wing government of advancing "Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank."
In a statement, B'Tselem also criticized the international community for "enabling Israel's crimes."
The decision was praised by Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish settlements and has close ties with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ganz said the move countered the Palestinian Authority's bid to establish a state.
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move not recognized by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.
Settlement activity in the West Bank has accelerated sharply since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its 20th month. Israel has also stepped up military operations against Palestinian militants in the West Bank and settler attacks on Palestinian residents have increased.
(Production: Ammar Awad, Ismael Khader, Rami Amichay, Roleen Tafakji, Lara Afghani)