Israel illegally approves 2,162 new settlements in occupied West Bank
Palestinian Authority condemns expansion as US urged to intervene while settlement activity accelerates across occupied territory
LONDON (MNTV) – Israel has approved the construction of 2,162 new housing units in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, in a move the Palestinian Authority says deepens occupation policies and further undermines already fragile prospects for peace.
The approval was issued by the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration, a body operating under Israel’s Defense Ministry, which authorized new construction across multiple settlement blocs in both the northern and southern West Bank.
Among the plans are more than 1,000 units in the Gvaot settlement, which Israel itself formally recognized only last year, further accelerating expansion into occupied territory widely regarded as illegally occupied under international law.
The Palestinian Authority strongly condemned the decision, describing it as part of a systematic expansion strategy that entrenches Israeli control over Palestinian land and erodes the territorial basis for a future independent state.
It called on the United States to immediately intervene to halt the latest approvals, accusing Washington of failing to restrain Israel’s continued settlement expansion despite repeated international warnings.
International law and United Nations resolutions consider all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal, and the vast majority of UN member states have consistently condemned their expansion as a major obstacle to peace.
Critics argue that continued US diplomatic protection has allowed Israel to proceed with settlement construction without meaningful accountability, even as tensions across the occupied territories remain high.
Approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank alongside nearly three million Palestinians, in a territory widely recognized as occupied since 1967.
Rights groups and international observers warn that continued settlement growth is steadily altering demographic and geographic realities on the ground, further complicating any future political settlement.
The latest approval adds to longstanding accusations that Israel is entrenching a one-state reality through incremental expansion, while Palestinian leadership insists that such measures make any negotiated peace increasingly unattainable.
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