UK condemns Israel’s approval of 19 new West Bank settlements

The UK government has condemned Israel’s approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the move illegal under international law and a threat to the prospects of peace.

Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said: “These are illegal under international law. This risks undermining the 20 Point Plan and prospects for the long-term peace and security that only a two-state solution can deliver.”

Israel’s security cabinet approved the recognition of 19 new settlements on Sunday, continuing the government’s push to expand its presence in the West Bank.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—himself a settler—proposed the move alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, describing it as a measure to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Reports in Israel said the move effectively legalises the repopulation of four northern West Bank settlements that Israel evacuated in 2005 under the Oslo Accords.

About half of the outposts are located deep inside the West Bank, while the others are dispersed more or less evenly along the Green Line that separates the territory from Israel.

“After 20 years, we are righting a painful injustice and returning Ganim and Kadim to the settlement map, alongside other important settlements throughout Judea and Samaria,” said Smotrich in announcing the new settlements.

“We are stopping the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state on the ground. We will continue to develop, build and settle in the land of our ancestors, with faith in the righteousness of the path,” he said.

The expansion of settlements in the West Bank is at its highest rate since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this month.

In 2025, “plans for nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tendered, compared with some 26,170 in 2024,” the report, which was seen by AFP, said.

Saudi Arabia also joined the UK in condemning the approvals.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since the war in Gaza began following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023, heightening fears that settlement expansion could entrench Israel’s occupation and further undermine a two-state solution.

The two-state solution envisions the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along pre-1967 borders.

Since taking office in 2022, Israel’s government has significantly increased approvals for new settlements and begun legalising unauthorised outposts by recognising them as “neighbourhoods” of existing settlements.

According to Smotrich, the latest decision brings the number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69.

The latest move includes the re-establishment of two settlements—Ganim and Kadim—which were dismantled nearly 20 years ago.

In May, Israel approved 22 new settlements in the West Bank, marking the largest expansion in decades.

In August, the Israeli government approved plans to build more than 3,000 homes in the E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, a plan that had been frozen for decades due to international opposition.

At the time, Smotrich said the plan would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Currently, about 700,000 settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now.

Settlement expansion has angered Arab nations, who argue it undermines the prospects for a two-state solution, and has raised concerns about the possible annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Former US President Donald Trump warned that Israel would lose US support if it moved toward annexation.

In September, the UK—along with Australia, Canada, and other countries—recognised a Palestinian state in a significant, albeit symbolic, policy shift. Israel opposed the move.