Israeli ministers say 22 new Jewish settlements have been approved in the occupied West Bank – the biggest expansion in decades, the BBC reports.
Several already exist as outposts, built without government authorization, but will now be made legal under Israeli law. Others are completely new, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Settlements – which are widely seen as illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this – are one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians.
Katz said the move “prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel”, while the Palestinian presidency called it a “dangerous escalation.”
