The Israeli security cabinet has approved nine outposts in the West Bank as settlements and planned to build 4,500 settlement units.
The cabinet's decision was taken in a five-hour session attended by ministers. Representatives of the army or the government's judicial advisor were not allowed to attend.
Ahead of the cabinet's meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the operations target the Israeli presence, and their response is to confirm and consolidate its existence more.
Israeli Attorney General Glai Baharav-Miara announced she does not support the government's efforts to legalize outposts in the West Bank but does not oppose these "exceptional" measures.
Previous Israeli governments refrained from granting legitimacy to settlement outposts, especially if they were built on private Palestinian land.
The outposts approved as settlements include Avigayil, Beit Hogla, Givat Harel, Givat Arnon, Mitzpe Yehuda, Malachi Hashalom, Asahel, Sde Boaz, and Shacharit.
The cabinet will ask the Supreme Council for Planning and Building in the West Bank to convene in the coming days and approve the construction of thousands of new settlement units to expand existing settlements.
It also decided to reinforce the Israeli police forces and the border guard in East Jerusalem under the pretext of strengthening deterrence and the rule of government.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh accused Israel of wanting to legalize nine settlement outposts, calling for "punishing Israel, boycotting it, and considering it an outlaw state."
Shtayyeh said that the defiance of international law and international legality must be followed by severe punishment.
He asserted that all settlements are illegitimate, stressing that it is time for the world to punish Israel for its defiance of UN resolutions and US and European policy opposed to settlements while calling for an end to settlement activities.
The Israeli decision is a challenge to all US officials who visited the region recently, just as it is a challenge to Security Council Resolution 2334, which criminalized settlements, said Shtayyeh, hoping to see the Resolution being implemented.
Furthermore, the Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, said the Palestinian leadership would respond to the recent Israeli cabinet decision.
"This is considered an open war on the Palestinian people and requires immediate international intervention and binding decisions that would force the occupation to stop its aggression and measures."
Egypt and Jordan condemned the Israeli decisions, while the US asked Netanyahu for clarifications.
Israeli media reported that the US embassy required Netanyahu's office to explain the new decision. Ynet website said the mission requested detailed clarifications, especially since those outposts are illegal.
Hamas also rejected the decision, saying it reflected the "fascism and racism of the occupation's government against the Palestinian people.
The deputy head of the movement's politburo, Saleh al-Arouri, called for unifying the Palestinian ranks to resist the occupation by all means and tools.
The Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said operations in Jerusalem would expand in the coming days, instructing the police to prepare for a significant process in East Jerusalem.
Ben-Gvir said he was delighted that the cabinet approved his request to expand security operations against Palestinians in Jerusalem, adding that he is pushing for a Defensive Shield 2 operation.
He wanted to move forward with the plan whether or not he received additional forces. He has pushed back at those connected to Netanyahu, who said he has no authority to act this way.
The Defensive Shield operation was the invasion by Israeli forces under Ariel Sharon's government to suppress the second intifada in 2002.
