Canada and 13 other nations released a joint statement on Wednesday criticizing the Israeli security cabinet’s endorsement of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The statement highlights that such independent actions, as part of a broader escalation of settlement policies in the West Bank, not only breach international law but also pose a risk of escalating instability.

Following the cabinet’s announcement on Sunday, Israel approved 19 additional settlements, bringing the total number of new settlements in recent years to 69, as stated by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank expansion. This approval signifies a nearly 50% increase in West Bank settlements during the current far-right government’s term. Peace Now, an organization monitoring settlements, reports an increase from 141 to 210 settlements across the West Bank in 2022.

Considered illegal under international law, settlements continue to be a contentious issue. The cabinet’s decision also involved retroactively legalizing certain previously established settlement outposts or neighborhoods within existing settlements, and the establishment of settlements on land where Palestinians were displaced, according to Israel’s Finance Ministry.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand criticized the news in a statement, emphasizing that the ongoing expansion of settlements contradicts international law and undermines the 20 Point Peace Plan. This expansion jeopardizes the potential for a two-state solution and the fundamental goal of Israelis and Palestinians coexisting peacefully and securely.

The approval of these settlements coincides with U.S. efforts to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, implemented on October 10. The U.S.-brokered plan aims to pave the way for a potential pathway to a Palestinian state, a goal that settlement expansion seeks to impede.

Among the settlements approved, Kadim and Ganim stand out, as they were part of the four West Bank settlements disbanded in 2005 during Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Subsequent attempts to resettle these areas followed the repeal in March 2023 of a 2005 act that prohibited Israelis from returning to the evacuated outposts.