On March 20, Barack Obama will make his first visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as president of the United States. He has been in this part of the world before, but in the capacity of a junior senator from Illinois. Just days after this major announcement from the White House, Israel divulged that it is approving hundreds of new settlement units in the West Bank, signaling once more its intent to change the geographical status quo (and thus the political landscape), which would affect the outcome of any future status agreement with the Palestinians.

Israel’s Defense Ministry rubber-stamped construction plans for 346 units in the settlements of Tekoa and Nokdim south of the West Bank. Additionally, 90 new units were slated to be built in the settlement of Beit El, just outside of Ramallah.

For the Palestinian Authority (PA) and others who believe that a two-state solution is still possible, the prospect of another wave of settlements threatens to torpedo prospects to bring the two back to the negotiating table. Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been on hold since 2010.

Just as important, this settlement announcement reveals that there is very little land not laced with illegal colonies left in the West Bank to negotiate over. Terrestrial Jerusalem, an Israeli non-government organization headed by settlement expert Daniel Seidemann, points out that “2013 has witnessed a settlement surge unprecedented in scope and intensity since 1967. Not a mere tactical move, this surge constitutes a strategic thrust to unilaterally determine a baseline border between Israel and Palestine.”