Palestine says Israel's approval of new settlements dangerous step

Israel's decision to establish 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is a "dangerous step" aimed at tightening control over Palestinian territory, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.



The move extends "the policies of apartheid," undermines the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and destroys "any real prospect of stability," the ministry said in a statement on social media. It added that the decision was part of Israel's efforts to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.



On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a pro-settler politician, said Israel's security cabinet had approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, bringing the number of settlements legalised or approved over the past three years to 69.



Smotrich said the decision was part of a broader push to strengthen Jewish settlements across the West Bank and to prevent "the de facto establishment" of a Palestinian state.