Israel's approval of new West Bank settlements illegitimate: Arab League chief

CAIRO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel's recent approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is illegitimate, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said Monday.

"The move is a blatant challenge to the international will that rejects settlement activity, and a violation of international law, which affirms the illegality of settlements," Aboul-Gheit said in a statement posted on social media platform X.

Israel's expansion of the illegal settlement activity "is aimed at preventing the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state, " he said, noting that the settlement expansion "will not render it legitimate under any circumstances."

On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a pro-settler politician, said Israel's security cabinet had approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, bringing the number of settlements legalized or approved over the past three years to 69.

Smotrich said the step is part of a broader effort to strengthen Jewish settlements across the West Bank, and to prevent "the de facto establishment" of a Palestinian state.

Israel has accelerated settlements approvals since the formation of the current right-wing government, which includes parties that strongly oppose Palestinian statehood and advocate expanding Israeli control over the territory.

Those approvals came amid heightened international criticism of Israeli settlement activity, which most countries regard as illegal under international law. ■