Jerusalem: Israel's security Cabinet has approved a plan to legalize 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, as reported by local media on Friday. This decision was made during a Cabinet meeting held late Thursday, where Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich presented the proposal to formalize these settlements.

According to Anadolu Agency, some of the settlements are newly established, while others already exist and will now receive formal status. Among the settlements mentioned are Ganim and Kadim, which were evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel's disengagement plan that also included the removal of settlements from the Gaza Strip, as reported by Channel 14.

Channel 14 further reported that the decision marks a 'full return' to settlements in the northern West Bank, referred to by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria. The outlet described the move as a significant shift in settlement policy and attributed it to Smotrich. The report indicated that an accelerated planning process will now commence to implement the political decision to establish and legalize the settlements, in accordance with the Cabinet's approval.

The Israeli left-wing group Peace Now states that approximately 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers reside in settlements across the West Bank, with an additional 250,000 living in settlements built on land in occupied East Jerusalem. Expanding and formally annexing the West Bank could potentially end the possibility of implementing a two-state solution-an Israeli and a Palestinian state-as outlined in UN resolutions.

Israel, established in 1948 on Palestinian land, later occupied the remaining Palestinian territories. Successive Israeli governments have consistently rejected withdrawal and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.