The approval is "a dangerous step aimed at strengthening colonial control over the entire Palestinian territory," writes the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, based in Ramallah in the West Bank.
It was on Sunday that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician, announced that 19 settlements had been approved. The decision is part of Israel's attempt to prevent the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank.
This brings the total number of settlements approved by Israel over the past three years to 69.
The Palestinian response on Sunday was clear: "annexation also means undermining the rights of the residents," the PA points out, drawing a direct comparison with the former South African segregationist apartheid policy.
International criticism from several countries, as well as the UN, is also directed at Israel's decision to approve settlements.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Israeli settlers had attacked a Palestinian home, breaking into it, firing tear gas into the home, and slaughtering a sheep. Israeli police have arrested five suspected perpetrators.
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