Israel has approved the largest land seizure in the occupied West Bank in over three decades and advanced plans to build thousands of new settlement homes, according to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group. This move by Israel’s hard-line government aims to solidify control over the territory and hinder the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The international community considers these settlements illegal or illegitimate, and Palestinians view them as the main obstacle to a lasting peace agreement. With over 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, partitioning the territory for a two-state solution is increasingly challenging.
AP