PoliticsCanada and 13 other countries issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning the Israeli security cabinet's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.Israel's security cabinet approved 19 new settlements on SundayRacy Rafique · CBC News · Posted: Dec 24, 2025 1:40 PM EST | Last Updated: December 24, 2025Listen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map that shows the E1 settlement project during a press conference near the settlement of Maale Adumim, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Aug. 14. Canada and 13 other countries issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning the Israeli security cabinet's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo)Canada and 13 other countries issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning the Israeli security cabinet's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.“We recall that such unilateral actions, as part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fueling instability,” the joint statement says.On Sunday, Israel's cabinet announced the approval of 19 more settlements, bringing the number of new settlements over the past few years to 69, according to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has pushed an expansion agenda in the West Bank.Israel approves hundreds of housing units in 3 settlements in the occupied West BankThe approval increases the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50 per cent during the current far-right government’s tenure. In 2022, there were 141 across the West Bank. Now, there are 210, according to Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group.Settlements are widely considered illegal under international law. Smotrich’s office said the cabinet approval came on Dec. 11 and that the development had been classified until Sunday. On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand condemned the news in a post on X.“The continued settlement expansion is contrary to international law and puts at risk the 20 Point Peace Plan. Clearly such action undermines the prospects for a two-state solution and the ultimate objective of Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security,” said Anand.The approval comes as the U.S. pushes Israel and Hamas to move ahead with the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect Oct. 10. The U.S.-brokered plan calls for a possible “pathway” to a Palestinian state, something the settlements are aimed at preventing.Gaza’s ceasefire has stalled as both sides drag their feet, leaving few countries willing to step up and helpThe cabinet decision included a retroactive legalization of some previously established settlement outposts or neighborhoods of existing settlements, and the creation of settlements on land where Palestinians were evacuated, Israel’s Finance Ministry said. Settlements can range in size from a single dwelling to a collection of high-rises.The ministry said two of the settlements legalized in the latest approval are Kadim and Ganim, which were two of the four West Bank settlements dismantled in 2005, as part of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. There have been multiple attempts to resettle them after Israel’s government in March 2023 repealed a 2005 act that evacuated the four outposts and barred Israelis from re-entering the areas.ABOUT THE AUTHORRacy Rafique is an associate producer for CBC's national television program Power & Politics. She also works as a writer covering federal politics for CBC's parliamentary bureau. Racy was a 2023 CBC Joan Donaldson Scholar and is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University. You can reach her at reathia.rafique@cbc.ca.With files from the Associated Press