Israel Builds 19 New Settlements in the West Bank, Palestinians Consider Extending Apartheid Policy

Israel destroyed houses, shops, roads, water infrastructure, sewage, and electricity in the Palestinian West Bank amid thousands of civilians who had difficulty getting food before the 2025 ceasefire took effect. (X UNISPAL)

JAKARTA - The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli government's plan to build 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry (Kemenlu) based in Ramallah condemned the plan as a "dangerous step aimed at tightening colonial control over all Palestinian land."

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it Israel's continuation of "the policy of apartheid, settlements, and annexation that undermines the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people."

"This decision provides political protection to accelerate the plundering of Palestinian land, expand settlement infrastructure... along with the increasing rate of settler terrorism against our people and their property," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by AFP, Wednesday, December 24.

This latest move by Israel brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69.

Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and annexed in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with some three million Palestinians.