Israel approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the far-right finance minister said on Sunday was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.The decision taken by the security cabinet brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.The latest approvals come days after the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank all of which are illegal under international law had reached its highest level since at least 2017.