The Israeli government has approved a settlement project in the occupied West Bank, one of the two Palestinian territories. Announced this August 20, the settlement will cut the West Bank in two, undermining prospects for a Palestinian state.
The settlement, which has been under discussion for years but was previously put on hold due to international pressure, will be built in the so-called E1 zone and will consist of 3,500 apartments.
The approval appears to be retaliation against recent moves towards the recognition of the Palestinian state by countries such as France, Spain, and Australia. Indeed, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that “the Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions.”
While the world’s attention has been mainly focused on Gaza, the West Bank has seen increased attacks from Israeli settlers and evictions of Palestinian from their towns, together with military operations from the Israel Defense Forces.
The settlements on the West Bank are considered illegal by the international community. Indeed, in July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling that Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem is unlawful. This landmark ruling provided a complete legal review of Israel's occupation of the West Bank. But Israel disputes its findings, arguing that the whole of the West Bank is part of the Jewish historical homeland and therefore cannot be considered an occupation.
Several critical debates sprung up in the lead-up to the ruling and immediately after. So, are the settlements illegal or not?
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