Ramallah: Israel’s Security Cabinet officially approved the construction of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, marking another violation of international law, humanitarian law, and UN resolutions that classify settlement-building in occupied territories as illegal.
Settlement activity in the West Bank has intensified sharply since the outbreak of the war on Gaza in October 2023. The Palestinian presidency condemned Israel’s decision, calling it a dangerous escalation and a direct challenge to international legitimacy and legal frameworks. It accused the Israeli government of dragging the region into ongoing cycles of violence and instability through its continued aggression against the Palestinian people.
The Jordanian government also denounced the decision, stating that it represents a blatant violation of the Palestinian people's inalienable right to establish an independent and sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Jordan reaffirmed its absolute rejection of the move, which contradicts UN Security Council resolutions-particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli measures aimed at altering the demographic composition and legal status of occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem.
The United Nations maintains that settlement expansion in Palestinian territories is illegal and warns that it severely undermines the prospects of resolving the conflict through the two-state solution.
