Photo used for representational purposes. An Israeli occupation soldier aims his rifle as a Palestinian man looks on during a raid in the heart of the Palestinian city of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on May 27, 2025. Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP.
Jerusalem: Israeli occupation announced on Thursday the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, risking further strain on relations with the international community already taxed by the war on Gaza.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The decision to establish more, taken by the country's security cabinet, was announced by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler, and Defence Minister Israel Katz, who is in charge of managing the communities.
"We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing settlement in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel," Smotrich said on X, using the Israeli terms for the southern and northern West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.
"Next step: sovereignty!" he added.
Katz said the initiative "changes the face of the region and shapes the future of settlement for years to come".
In a statement, Hamas condemned the move as "further confirmation that the criminal Zionist occupation continues to impose facts on the ground by accelerating steps to Judaize Palestinian land within a clear annexation project".
"This is a blatant defiance of the international will and a grave violation of international law and United Nations resolutions," said the Palestinian group.
Western ally Jordan too condemned the Israeli move, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law" that "undermines prospects for peace by entrenching the occupation".
The Jordanian foreign ministry warned that "such unilateral actions further erode the viability of a two-state solution by impeding the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state".
In a statement on Telegram, the right-wing Likud party of Netanyahu called the move a "once-in-a-generation decision", saying the initiative had been led by Smotrich and Katz.
The party published a map showing the 22 sites spread across the territory.
Human rights groups and anti-settlement NGOs say a slide towards at least de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank has gathered pace, particularly since the start of the war on Gaza.
"The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal," the Peace Now group said in a statement, adding the move "will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation".
In his announcement, Smotrich offered a preemptive defence of the move, saying: "We have not taken a foreign land, but the heritage of our ancestors."
Some European governments have moved to sanction individual settlers, as did the United States under former president Joe Biden, though those measures were lifted by current President Donald Trump.
Thursday's announcement comes ahead of an international conference to be led by France and Saudi Arabia at UN headquarters in New York next month, which is meant to resurrect the idea of the two-state solution.
