Israel has declared plans to establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including legalizing settlements previously built without government permission, in a closed-door vote last week by the governmentʼs Security Council.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote about this on the social network X. The Guardian also writes about this.
The publication notes that such a decision was proposed by the far-right Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrych, who lives in the settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank — it is illegal under international law.
Katz said the move would help Israel strengthen its control over the West Bank. He said it reaffirmed “our historic right to the Land of Israel and was a devastating response to Palestinian terrorism”. The Israeli defense minister added that the move would prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, which he said “threatens Israel”.
The government plans to use the 22 settlements to strengthen the Israeli presence around Route 443, which runs between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv via Modiin. Yesha Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz called the decision the most important since 1967.
Israel occupied the West Bank, capturing it from Jordan during the Six-Day War of 1967. Since then, governments have sought to permanently cement Israeli control over the territory, in part by declaring certain areas "state lands", which prevents private Palestinian property.
"This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told Reuters, calling on the Trump administration to intervene.
Meanwhile, as The Guardian reports, Benjamin Netanyahuʼs far-right government, by approving new Jewish settlements, is continuing to implement its long-standing plan to annex occupied Palestinian lands to Israel, a goal supported by the Trump administration.
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s nominee to be the new ambassador to Israel, said in an interview last year that he supported Israel’s claim to the West Bank.
“When people use the term ʼoccupied’, I say, yes, Israel is occupying land, but it’s occupying land that God gave them 3,500 years ago. It’s their land,” he said.
Right-wing Israeli settlers have called Donald Trumpʼs new administration a "dream team" after it lifted sanctions against radical settler groups that have resorted to violence against Palestinians. These sanctions were previously imposed by the US government due to attacks and acts of aggression by some Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The settlers believe that with the new White House, a "special opportunity" appears to permanently stop any international attempts to create a Palestinian state.
What preceded
Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group, reported that last July, Israel approved the largest land grab in the occupied West Bank in more than 30 years. The government then authorized the confiscation of 12.7 square kilometers of land in the Jordan Valley, the largest such decision since the Oslo peace accords in 1993.
Speaking at a conference of his Religious Zionism party, Minister Smotrich said that the volume of land grabs in 2024 was about ten times higher than the average level of previous years. He called it a “mega-strategic move” in which Israel is investing heavily and which, he said, “will radically change the map of the world”.
Back in May 2023, Smotrich stated that his main goal was to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. At that time, he instructed ministries to prepare for the resettlement of another half a million Israeli settlers to the West Bank.
In an order that the Israel Defense Forces published on its website in May 2024, control over many of the internal regulations of the Civil Administration — the body that governs the West Bank — now passed from the military to officials in the Defense Ministry reporting to Smotrich.
And already in March 2025, the Peace Now organization stated that from the beginning of the year to March 19, the construction of 10 503 new housing units had been proposed — more than was approved for the entire year of 2023.
Status of Palestine
In 1947, a UN General Assembly resolution voted to establish two independent states — Israel and Palestine — in the historic region of Palestine. However, this plan never materialized.
In 1988, Palestine, which was partially under Israeli control, declared independence. It has now been recognized by more than 140 of the 193 UN member states, including Ukraine. Among the European states, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Sweden also recognize Palestineʼs independence. None of the G7 countries has recognized Palestineʼs independence.
Palestine has observer status in the UN, and full membership is only possible by decision of the UN Security Council, but it is blocked by the US.
On May 10, 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution expanding Palestineʼs rights in the organization and calling on the Security Council to favorably review the countryʼs application to become the 194th member of the UN.
In 2024, Palestine was recognized as an independent state by Norway, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Armenia. Meanwhile, the Swiss parliament rejected a proposal to recognize Palestine as an independent state.
What is happening in the Gaza Strip?
Active hostilities between Israel and Hamas have continued since October 7, 2023, when militants of the Islamist group launched a massive rocket attack on southern and central Israel, invaded the countryʼs territory, killed hundreds of civilians, and took hostages.
In mid-January 2025, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas pledged to release 33 Israeli hostages, while Israel pledged to release more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and begin withdrawing troops from the Gaza Strip. On March 2, Israel agreed to temporarily extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a transitional period after the end of the first phase, as the parties have not yet been able to agree on how to proceed.
On the night of March 18, Israel resumed hostilities in the Gaza Strip after a two-month ceasefire. The strikes killed the de facto prime minister of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Isaam Daalis and four other senior Hamas officials.
Israel has placed responsibility for the resumption of hostilities on Hamas — the militants allegedly rejected all proposals to extend the ceasefire. Therefore, any further negotiations with Hamas, if they are held at all, will only be "under fire" — that is, Israel refuses a ceasefire as a condition for starting new negotiations.
In early May, Netanyahu declared a plan to seize the entire Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of reservists were called up in the country to expand the military operation. On May 18, the Israel Defense Forces began “large-scale” ground operations in the Gaza Strip.
The Guardian notes that in recent weeks, criticism of Israel over the war in Gaza has increased in the international community.
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