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Israel's top security body has formally approved the establishment of 19 additional settlements in the contested Palestinian territories, signaling a continued drive for territorial growth.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the measure alongside Defense Chief Israel Katz, declared that the decision was aimed at preventing the formation of a sovereign Palestine.

It is important to note that Israeli settlements in the disputed territories are considered illegal.

The move has elicited censure from Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Israel's "unceasing" growth of communities fuels tensions, curtails Palestinians' use of territory, and undermines the viability of a independent Palestinian state.

Rising Unrest and Diplomatic Fallout

Unrest in the region has escalated since the hostilities in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, adding to apprehensions that the growth of communities could solidify Israel's occupation and weaken the possibility for a two-state solution.

The concept of two states involves the formation of a State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, with Jerusalem's eastern sector as its capital, roughly along the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war.

Since taking office in 2022, the present Israeli government has significantly increased the green-lighting of fresh communities and started the process of legalization for unauthorised settler outposts, recognising them as "suburbs" of established communities.

A Pattern of Growth

The most recent decision takes the total number of communities approved over the last three years to 69, per the figures from Smotrich.

These approvals come a short time after the United Nations stated that settlement expansion had hit its most intense pace since the year 2017.

The most recent round of approvals includes the re-establishment of two settlements — Ganim and Kadim — which were dismantled about 20 years ago.

Earlier this year, Israel gave the nod to twenty-two new communities in the territories - labeled as the biggest wave of approvals in many years.

Additionally, the government gave the go-ahead for projects in August to erect over 3,000 residences in the so-called E1 corridor between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim community, a plan that had been on hold for decades amid fierce foreign opposition.

Regarding that plan, Smotrich remarked it would "put to rest the concept of a Palestinian state."

Demographic Realities and International Response

An estimated seven hundred thousand Israeli settlers live in about one hundred and sixty communities in the occupied territories, as per data from the Israeli monitoring organization Peace Now. This is territory that Palestinians envision for a future sovereign nation.

This ongoing construction has drawn ire from Arab states who have consistently said it undermines prospects for a two-state solution.

It has also raised fears about the potential formal annexation of the disputed territories.

Ex- American President Donald Trump had once warned the Israeli leadership about annexation, stating to a publication that the country would lose its backing from the US if it happened.

Recently, the UK - along with other countries including Australia and Canada - formally recognized a Palestinian state, a major although primarily ceremonial adjustment in official stance.

Israel opposed this recognition, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that a Palestinian state "is off the table."