The Israeli government today approved 22 new settlements in the West Bank, launching the largest settlement expansion in decades. Defense Minister Israel Katz said many of the settlements already exist as unauthorized outposts but will now be legalized under Israeli law. The issue remains one of the core points of contention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to media reports, since Israel took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, it has established roughly 160 settlements, now home to about 700,000 Israelis.
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