Israel approves plan to establish 13 new settlements in occupied West Bank

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkA pro-settlement sign put up by Israeli settlers on the roadside near Nablus City reads in Hebrew, 'Welcome to northern Samaria. We have returned to our homes', in the occupied West Bank, Palestine [File: Alaa Badarneh/EPA]By Heba Habib and AnadoluPublished On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a plan to establish 13 new settlements in the central occupied West Bank, a move Palestinian officials say will further fragment the territory and isolate East Jerusalem from its surrounding Palestinian communities.Israel’s Channel 7 reported that the cabinet approved the construction of the illegal settlements on Thursday in the Binyamin regional area, one of the largest settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Palestine weekly: Israel accelerates land grabs in Gaza, West Banklist 2 of 3Billions flow between EU institutions and Israel, despite Gaza genocidelist 3 of 3Gaza war’s 1,000 days: 90% of strip ‘destroyed’, 80% ‘seized’ by Israelend of listIt is situated along Route 60, the central north-south artery running through the West Bank that links Palestinian cities, including Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem, while also connecting major Israeli settlements.The first phase is expected to begin in the coming months and will include the establishment of four to six new settlements, backed by investments worth millions of shekels, Palestine’s Jerusalem governorate said.Several existing pastoral outposts are also slated for formal legalisation, enabling them to receive government funding and infrastructure, it added.The plan focuses on two main corridors: areas northwest of Jerusalem and west of Ramallah along Route 60, and territory extending eastward towards the Jordan Valley.The Jerusalem governorate said the scheme is designed to link settlement blocs, tighten Israeli control over strategic hilltops and restrict Palestinian territorial continuity.“The plan seeks to create new geographical realities on the ground,” the governorate added in a statement, warning that the expansion would “undermine the prospects of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.”The governorate linked the acceleration of settlement activity to domestic political calculations in Israel, particularly with Knesset elections approaching.It described the measures as “a dangerous escalation” and “violations of international law,” calling on the international community to intervene. The approval comes amid an unprecedented surge in Israeli settlement activity.New data from the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR) shows that the number of new settlement outposts has soared in recent years. After averaging approximately eight outposts annually between 2012 and 2022, the number jumped to 32 in 2023, then 62 in 2024, reaching 86 during 2025.The expansion has been facilitated by significant state funding: the Israeli government allocated 28 million shekels ($7.5m) to outposts in 2023 and 75 million shekels ($20m) in 2024, with plans to fund a total of 70 outposts.The Binyamin plan follows reports that settlement movements are preparing to target Area A, territory under full Palestinian control, in what would constitute a violation of the Oslo Accords.Palestinian officials have long warned that continued settlement expansion is eroding the viability of a two-state solution, as more than 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem territory Israel captured in the 1967 war.The international community overwhelmingly considers settlements illegal under international law.