Israel Expands Settlement Plans in West Bank and Jerusalem

Jerusalem, MINA – The Israeli occupation authorities are pushing forward extensive plans to seize more Palestinian land, particularly in the Jordan Valley and around Jerusalem, as part of a broader strategy to entrench a new colonial reality in the occupied West Bank, according to a new report by the National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements.

The weekly report, published on Saturday, revealed that Israeli authorities recently discussed plans to construct 248 new settlement units across several parts of the West Bank under six different schemes spanning four settlements. Among the most prominent are 102 units in Rotem settlement in the northern Jordan Valley and 138 units in Eli settlement deep in the West Bank, in addition to expansion in Giv’at Ze’ev and Shiloh.

The report further said Israeli occupation forces have issued military orders to seize more than 70 dunums of land from the villages of Qaryut, Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, and Al-Sawiya in the Nablus governorate to establish a “buffer zone” around the Eli settlement.

It also noted that the Higher Planning Council of the Israeli Civil Administration has been holding weekly meetings since November 2024 to approve new construction projects, a move aimed at normalizing settlement expansion and diverting global attention.

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Since the start of this year, Israeli authorities have approved more than 26,000 settlement units, a record-breaking figure reflecting an unprecedented pace of expansion. The government has also reactivated old seizure orders affecting hundreds of dunums in Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem, as part of a systematic plan to annex more Palestinian land.

In the northern Jordan Valley, settlers have fenced off over 4,000 dunums of agricultural land belonging to about 40 Palestinian families, exploiting the world’s focus on the Gaza war and the strict military lockdown in the area. The bureau described these actions as “organized land theft” designed to uproot Palestinians from one of the West Bank’s most fertile and strategic regions.

Settler violence has also surged, with increasing attacks against Palestinian residents and their property, including home invasions, assaults on shepherds, farm destruction, and livestock theft. In the al-Khalil governorate, Israeli bulldozers have razed around 70 dunums of farmland in Beit Ummar, Be’er Arakeh, and Umm al-Kheir, destroying property belonging to local families.

Coinciding with the olive harvest season, settlers have escalated their assaults on Palestinian farmers, firing at workers, beating harvesters, and stealing crops and equipment often under the protection of Israeli forces.

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The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 71 attacks in a single week across 27 villages, nearly half linked to the olive harvest. Between October 14 and 22 alone, at least 78 attacks were documented, including land invasions, farm vandalism, vehicle arson, and demolitions of homes and agricultural facilities.

The report warned that these developments are part of a systematic Israeli policy to accelerate settlement expansion, fragment the West Bank, and lay the groundwork for de facto annexation of large areas, amid the absence of any effective international deterrence or legal accountability.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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