Canada and a coalition of 13 nations jointly criticized the Israeli security cabinet’s endorsement of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The collective statement highlighted that such unilateral actions, part of an escalating trend in settlement policies in the West Bank, not only breach international law but also pose a risk of escalating tensions. Israel’s cabinet recently announced the approval of 19 additional settlements, totaling 69 new settlements over the past few years, as confirmed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank expansion.
This move marks a nearly 50% increase in the number of settlements in the West Bank under the current far-right government. Peace Now, an anti-settlement monitoring group, reported an increase from 141 to 210 settlements in 2022. Settlements are widely viewed as unlawful under international regulations. The cabinet’s decision involved retroactively legalizing certain previously established outposts or neighborhood expansions within existing settlements and establishing settlements on evacuated Palestinian land.
Regarding the development, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand expressed strong condemnation, emphasizing the violation of international law and the jeopardy it poses to the 20 Point Peace Plan. Anand stressed that such actions undermine the potential for a two-state solution, hindering the coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians in peace and security. This approval arrives amid U.S. efforts to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, initiated on October 10, aiming to pave the way for a potential Palestinian state, an objective challenged by the expansion of settlements.
The recent decision included the legalization of settlements like Kadim and Ganim, previously among the four settlements dismantled in 2005 during Israel’s Gaza withdrawal. Subsequent attempts to resettle these areas followed the repeal of a 2005 evacuation act in March 2023, enabling Israelis to reoccupy the regions.