Canada and 13 other nations released a collective statement on Wednesday denouncing the Israeli security cabinet’s green light for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The joint declaration highlighted that such unilateral actions, amidst a broader escalation of settlement policies in the West Bank, not only breach international law but also pose a risk of escalating instability.
Israel’s cabinet disclosed the approval of 19 additional settlements on Sunday, marking a total of 69 new settlements in recent years, as confirmed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank expansion. This move represents a nearly 50% surge in West Bank settlements under the current far-right administration, with the count rising from 141 in 2022 to 210 now, as reported by Peace Now, an organization monitoring settlement activities.
The establishment of settlements in the West Bank is widely viewed as illegal under international law. The cabinet’s approval, granted on December 11 and made public on Sunday, also involved retroactively legalizing certain previously established outpost settlements or neighborhood expansions within existing settlements, as well as initiating new settlements on land previously inhabited by Palestinians.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand voiced strong opposition to the settlement expansion, emphasizing its contradiction with international law and its detrimental impact on the prospects of the 20 Point Peace Plan. Anand underscored that such actions undermine the viability of a two-state solution and the shared goal of Israeli and Palestinian coexistence in peace and security.
The timing of the approval coincides with U.S. efforts to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, brokered by the U.S. and in effect since October 10. The ceasefire plan aims to pave the way for a potential pathway to a Palestinian state, a goal that the settlements aim to obstruct.
Among the settlements legalized in the recent approval are Kadim and Ganim, two of the four settlements dismantled in 2005 during Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip. Subsequent attempts to resettle these areas followed the repeal in March 2023 of a 2005 law that had evacuated the outposts and prohibited Israeli reentry into the regions. The settlements vary in size, ranging from individual residences to multi-story complexes.