Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the decision, calling him a “dangerous escalation”.
The Israeli government has said that it will establish 22 illegal colonies on the Palestinian land in occupied West Bank, including the legalization of certain so-called “outposts” already built without authorization from the government, in a decision discouraged by Palestinian officials and rights for the defense of rights.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the decision on Thursday, with Katz saying that he “strengthens our grip on Judea and Samaria”, using an Israeli term for occupied West Bank.
He added that it was also “a strategic decision that prevents the creation of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel”.
Smotrich, himself a colonist on land belonging to Illegally occupied Palestinians and a defender of the Israeli annexation of the West Bank, praised the “historic decision”.
In a statement, the Likoud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described this decision as a “unique decision in generation”, emphasizing its strategic value in the fortification of the grip of Israel along the eastern border with Jordan.
Israel has already built more than 100 illegal colonies through the occupied West Bank which houses some 500,000 settlers. Establishments range from small outposts to the greatest communities with modern infrastructure.
The West Bank is home to more than three million Palestinians, who live under the Israeli military regime, the Palestinian authority governing in limited areas.
The Palestinians see the territory as an integral part of a future state, as well as the occupied and Gaza East Jerusalem.
The Palestinians slam “dangerous escalation”
Palestinian officials and rights defending rights have criticized the Israeli government’s decision, warning that the expansion of illegal establishments were still harmful to the prospects of a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the decision, calling a “dangerous escalation” and a “challenge to international legitimacy”.
He accused Israel of having fueled instability in the region and warned the move violating international law. “This decision violates all international resolutions, in particular resolution 2334 of the United Nations Security Council,” he said, adding that any regulation activity remains illegal and illegitimate.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has sentenced the United States and the European Union to take action.
“The announcement of the building of 22 new colonies in the West Bank is part of the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people,” Abu Zuhri told the Reuters news agency.
The Israeli NGO Peace has now declared that this decision “would considerably reshape the West Bank and further strengthen the occupation.”
“The Israeli government no longer pretends the opposite: the annexation of the occupied territories and the expansion of the colonies are its central objective,” he said in a statement.
“This is the largest batch of illegal Israeli colonies to be approved in a decision,” Nida Ibrahim of Tel Aviv Tribune reported from the West Bank.
“The Israeli colonies strangle the Palestinian communities inside the West Bank,” said Ibrahim. “These new colonies fill the gaps, which makes a future Palestinian state almost impossible on the ground. Israel uses this moment – while global attention is fixed on Gaza – to cement its occupation. “
The announcement of the regulation occurs a few weeks before a high-level international conference, jointly directed by France and Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, aimed at relaunching the long-standing process to agree from a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
