Canada and 13 other nations released a joint statement on Wednesday denouncing the Israeli security cabinet’s green light for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The statement emphasized that such unilateral actions, part of an overall escalation of settlement policies in the West Bank, not only breach international law but also pose a risk of escalating instability.
Israel’s cabinet recently announced the approval of 19 additional settlements, bringing the total number of new settlements in recent years to 69, as per Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank expansion. This approval marks a nearly 50% increase in West Bank settlements during the current far-right government’s tenure, with 210 settlements now present across the region, up from 141 in 2022, as reported by Peace Now, an organization monitoring settlements.
Considered illegal under international law, settlements have been a contentious issue. The cabinet’s approval on Dec. 11, revealed only on Sunday, included retroactive legalization of some existing settlement outposts and the establishment of settlements on evacuated Palestinian land, according to Israel’s Finance Ministry. Notably, two of the settlements legalized in this decision, Kadim and Ganim, were part of the four settlements dismantled in 2005 following Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Despite these actions, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand criticized the expansion, citing its contravention of international law and its detrimental impact on the potential for a two-state solution.
This development occurs amid U.S. efforts to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, initiated on Oct. 10. The ceasefire agreement, brokered by the U.S., outlines a potential pathway for a Palestinian state, a goal challenged by the growth of settlements in the West Bank, hindering the prospects for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.