The creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank – the biggest expansion in decades – is straining Israeli ties with key allies, who have threatened sanctions.
The plan, recently approved by Israel’s security cabinet, comes amid growing pressure from European allies to bring an end to the 19-month war in Gaza – a conflict that has devastated much of the coastal enclave, claimed tens of thousands of lives, and triggered what international aid organizations describe as a hunger crisis.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, the continued expansion of Israeli settlements constitutes a violation of international law.
This latest move risks further hardening international sentiment against Israel ahead of next month’s UN summit in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, which aims to galvanize support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
