1 hour ago
Last Updated:December 21, 2025, 18:35 IST
US President Donald Trump has warned Israel against any move to annex the West Bank, saying it would come at a heavy diplomatic cost.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP file photo)
Israel’s Cabinet has cleared the creation of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move announced on Sunday by Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich. The decision further accelerates settlement expansion under the current government.
According to Smotrich, the approval includes two settlements that had been dismantled during Israel’s 2005 disengagement plan. He said the latest decision takes the total number of new settlements approved over the past two years to 69.
Rights groups say the move marks a sharp rise in settlement activity. Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that tracks settlements, said the total number of settlements in the West Bank will increase from 141 in 2022 to 210 following the latest approval — an increase of nearly 50 per cent during the present government’s term.
Settlements in the occupied territory are widely regarded as illegal under international law.
The decision has drawn criticism beyond Israel’s borders. US President Donald Trump has warned Israel against any move to annex the West Bank, saying it would come at a heavy diplomatic cost.
“Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened," Trump said in a recent interview with Time magazine.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and tensions there have sharply increased since the Gaza war began in October 2023 following Hamas’s attack on Israel. Violence in the territory has escalated alongside the conflict.
The decision comes at a sensitive time, as the United States is urging Israel and Hamas to move forward with the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10.
The U.S.-backed plan refers to a possible “pathway" to a Palestinian state, an idea that settlement expansion is seen as undermining.
Peace Now said the Cabinet decision also retroactively legalises several settlement outposts and neighbourhoods that were previously considered unauthorised. In addition, new settlements are set to be established on land from which Palestinians had earlier been displaced.
Israel took control of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza during the 1967 war. These areas are claimed by Palestinians as part of a future independent state. More than 500,000 Israelis now live in settlements across the West Bank, while over 200,000 more reside in contested east Jerusalem.
The current Israeli government includes strong supporters of the settler movement. Along with Smotrich, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — who oversees the police — is also a prominent advocate of expanding settlements.
Settlement growth has coincided with a rise in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months.
During the olive harvest in October, settlers carried out an average of eight attacks a day, according to the United Nations humanitarian office — the highest level recorded since data collection began in 2006.
The violence continued into November, with at least 136 further incidents reported by November 24.
The United Nations said settlers set fire to vehicles, vandalised mosques, looted industrial facilities and damaged farmland. Israeli authorities have largely limited their response to occasional statements condemning the attacks, drawing criticism from rights groups.
The latest Cabinet decision has renewed international concern over the future of the two-state solution and rising tensions in the occupied territories.
First Published:
December 21, 2025, 18:35 IST
News world Israel Clears 19 New West Bank Settlements To Thwart Palestinian Statehood Ignoring Trump's Warnings
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