Israel's Cabinet has approved a proposal for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The far-right finance minister, Betzalel Smotrich, announced the decision on Sunday. The settlements include two that were previously evacuated during a 2005 disengagement plan. Smotrich, who supports settlement expansion, noted that this brings the total number of new settlements over the past two years to 69. According to Peace Now, an anti-settlement group, this approval increases the number of settlements by nearly 50% during the current government's tenure. Settlements are widely considered illegal under international law.
