Israel Approves 104 New Settlements in West Bank, Threatening Palestinian Statehood

Original article: 104 nuevos asentamientos en Cisjordania: Israel avanza en plan para hacer inviable un Estado palestino

The Israeli government has authorized the establishment of 104 new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank, part of a campaign aimed at solidifying territorial control and, explicitly, rendering the creation of a Palestinian state unfeasible.

This decision represents a blatant violation of international law, executed through a systematic process that combines forced displacement, land expropriation, violence by settlers, and what human rights organizations term ethnic cleansing against the resident Palestinian population.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, known for his far-right views, has become the spokesperson for this policy, characterizing the expansion as «fulfilling electoral promises» and confirming that occupation and colonization are central to the agenda of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Zionist Cabinet.

Palestinian authorities have pointed out that Smotrich does not hide the ultimate goal of this initiative: to obstruct the formation of a Palestinian state and encourage a mass influx of settlers, with tax exemptions exceeding $42 million planned for these purposes.

Current figures from the Israeli organization Peace Now highlight the scale of the project: 141 settlements and 360 outposts in the West Bank, in addition to 15 settlements in East Jerusalem, housing approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers, all on lands from which generations of Palestinians were expelled.

The political will to eliminate the option of a Palestinian state has been reiterated at the highest levels. In September 2025, during the signing of an agreement to expand settlements in Maale Adumim—the largest Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem—Netanyahu declared boldly that «there will be no Palestinian state.»

The Prime Minister announced plans to double the population of this settlement to 70,000 people within the next five years, exemplifying how massive construction aims to fragment territory and render any two-state solution unfeasible.

This offensive has received a boost from the reactivation of projects such as E1, a colony plan that was revived with the support of the US administration under Netanyahu’s strategic ally, Donald Trump, after being stalled in 2012 and 2020 due to concerns from Washington and European governments.

The E1 project poses particular danger to the viability of a Palestinian state, as it will extend between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim colony, dividing the West Bank into two halves from north to south, and severing territorial continuity between East Jerusalem and the rest of the region.

When announcing in August 2025 the validation of this project which includes the construction of over 3,400 housing units, Smotrich stated that «the Palestinian state has been erased from the agenda, not with slogans, but with actions,» labeling each new unit as «another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.»

The total investment in this urban development would exceed $1 billion and include new roads and infrastructure improvements, solidifying a fait accompli on the ground. The international community, the UN, and even Israeli human rights organizations have expressed their opposition to E1 due to its devastating impact on Palestinian territorial cohesion.

Despite International Condemnation, Israel Continues Ethnic Cleansing

The international community has responded with condemnation, but without translating this into effective actions to halt Israel’s advance. UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016, already declared that settlements «lack legal validity» and constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

Last week, the UN Human Rights Office warned that bombings and the expansion of settlements are reaching unprecedented levels in the occupied West Bank, denouncing that “Jewish settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting in concert, have attacked local communities, assaulted families, destroyed and confiscated property, and burned mosques,” as reported by TeleSUR.

The spokesperson for this office, Ravina Shamdasani, noted that movement restrictions are becoming increasingly stringent, preventing Palestinians from accessing essential services, and expressed alarm over the rhetoric from certain Israeli leaders seeking to replicate in the West Bank the destruction seen in Gaza.

While the international community, including European governments and human rights organizations, condemns these policies, no concrete sanctions have managed to halt the occupation. Israel continues its siege and blockade in Gaza, bombs and demolishes in southern Lebanon, and intensifies settler attacks, the creation of new settlements, and the expulsion of Palestinian families in the West Bank. The expansion of settlements not only cuts off territory but fragments its geography and hinders any possibility of self-determination, solidifying a system of apartheid, displacement, and occupation that global civil society rejects, yet persists due to the inaction of the international community.