Israeli Cabinet approves the legalization of 19 settlements in the West Bank

The Israeli Ministerial Council for Political Affairs and Security Affairs, the "Cabinet," approved the request of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding regulating the status of 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Hebrew media.

Israeli Channel 14, known for its extremist right-wing tendencies, stated that the Minister of Finance presented during the Cabinet meeting his plan to regulate 19 settlements in the West Bank, noting that some of these settlements are newly established, while existing settlements will be regulated.

The channel explained that among the most prominent existing settlements that will be included in the regulation are the settlements of "Ganim" and "Kadim," which were evacuated in 2005 in conjunction with the dismantling of settlements in the Gaza Strip.

The channel pointed out that this decision represents a "complete return to the settlements of northern Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)," describing the move as "nothing less than a revolution led by Smotrich, and a real earthquake in the world of settlement."

The channel added that a rapid planning process will begin to implement the political level's decision to establish these settlements, according to the Cabinet's decision.

The Israeli left-wing "Peace Now" movement indicates that about half a million settlers reside in settlements in the West Bank, in addition to about 250,000 settlers residing in settlements established on the lands of East Jerusalem.

Observers believe that Israel's continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and its formal annexation will undermine the possibility of implementing the two-state solution principle, which stipulates the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, a principle approved by United Nations resolutions.

It is worth noting that Israel was established in 1948 on occupied Palestinian lands, then occupied the rest of the Palestinian territories, and refuses to withdraw from them and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.