{"id":216508,"date":"2026-01-02T11:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216508\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T11:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:57:11","slug":"illegal-israeli-settlement-expansion-in-occupied-west-bank-hit-record-high-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216508\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Israeli settlement expansion in occupied West Bank hit record high in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 closed as a record-breaking year for illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, with Israel\u2019s far-right coalition approving an unprecedented number of new settlements and housing projects \u2013 a push rights groups say is aimed at annexing the territory and blocking Palestinian statehood.<\/p>\n

According to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, the approvals finalised this year capped an acceleration that began under the current government, surpassing any period since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is nothing to compare to previous governments,\u201d Yonatan Mizrachi of Peace Now\u2019s Settlement Watch Team told Anadolu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of this government \u2026 is to prevent a political solution based on a two-state solution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

41 settlements approved in 2025 <\/p>\n

Peace Now said plans for 41 new illegal settlements were approved in 2025, making it the most extensive single year of settlement approvals on record. The figure includes both newly announced settlements and the retroactive legalisation of previously unauthorised outposts.<\/p>\n

In May, Israel\u2019s Security Cabinet approved the construction of 22 new illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank \u2013 the largest expansion in decades.<\/p>\n

The move included the reestablishment of settlements in Homesh and Sa-Nur, which were dismantled under Israel\u2019s 2005 unilateral disengagement from Gaza.<\/p>\n

On December 21, the Security Cabinet approved an additional plan to legalise 19 more settlements in the occupied West Bank, some newly established and others long-standing outposts now granted formal status.<\/p>\n

Mizrachi said the current government moved quickly after taking office, legalising 10 outposts in early 2023 and transforming nine of them into settlements.<\/p>\n

Outposts are illegal even under Israeli law, while settlements are considered legal by Israel despite being illegal under international law.<\/p>\n

Altogether, 68 settlements have been approved, legalised or initiated over the past three years, Peace Now said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis does not mean that all 68 settlements have already been established\u201d Mizrachi said. \u201cIt means the process has begun \u2013 with government support, different planning committees and authorities.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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Spread across entire occupied West Bank <\/p>\n

The expansion is geographically wide-ranging, extending into areas where no settlements previously existed.<\/p>\n

“Sixty-eight settlements that will be built according to the Israeli plan from the south to the north or from the north to the south,\u201d said Mizrachi. \u201cIncluding areas that today we don’t have any settlements like areas around Jenin, around Hebron.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 closed as a record-breaking year for illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, with Israel\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-216508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}