Latest news with #settlementexpansion
Al Mayadeen
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
'Israel' seizes more land in al-Khalil for settler road
In the latest escalation of its settlement expansion campaign, "Israel" has issued a military order on Saturday to seize over five dunums of land in the al-Khalil governorate, as reported by WAFA news. The targeted area lies near the outskirts of Sa'ir and al-Shuyoukh towns, and will be used to construct a road exclusively for settlers, connecting the illegal settlements of Asfar and Pnei Kedem. The land seizure was authorized under the pretext of "military and security purposes," allowing for the creation of new infrastructure aimed at facilitating settler movement while severely restricting Palestinian access. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the confiscated land includes both areas previously declared as private Palestinian property. Approximately 4.9 dunums are designated specifically for the road's construction, marking another step in expanding the settler corridor in the region. The al-Khalil land seizure is part of a broader pattern of intensifying land confiscations by Israeli occupation authorities in 2025. The Commission confirmed that this marks the 40th military seizure order issued this year alone. At least 11 of these orders have created buffer zones around illegal settlements, effectively cutting Palestinians off from vast areas of their agricultural land. In total, "Israel" has declared over 25,800 dunums (25.8 km²) as "state land" since the start of 2025, surpassing even the 24,300 dunums seized in 2024, the highest annual figure since the Oslo Accords. In a recent example, on July 7, Israeli occupation forces seized 744 dunums near al-Mughayir and Jaba'it villages to expand the illegal outpost of Malakhi HaShalom. Earlier, on May 29, Israeli authorities approved 22 new settlements, marking the most extensive settlement expansion in decades. "Israel" employs multiple legal mechanisms to facilitate its ongoing campaign of Palestinian land seizures: These measures have enabled "Israel" to exert control over approximately 44.5% of the West Bank, with settlements alone accounting for 42%. Although the physical built-up areas comprise only about 3.6%, the total influence of settlements extends much further due to zoning and infrastructure control. As a result of these settler colonial activities, over 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced in 2025, per UN estimates. Additionally, thousands more face restricted movement, the demolition of their homes, and the continued loss of vital farmland. It is worth noting that earlier this month, Israeli media reported on July 5 that there has been a 40% rise in the number of settlements under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the West Bank has witnessed a boom in settlement activity since the formation of Netanyahu's government at the end of 2022. The number of settlements increased from 128 to 178, accompanied by extensive demolitions of Palestinian homes. This expansion directly affects Palestinian communities through land confiscation and home demolitions. The channel emphasized that these measures aim to entrench Israeli control over the area and dismantle the viability of the so-called two-state solution. Last year in July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank violate international law. The UN Human Rights Office has also warned that the forced transfers and seizures seen in recent months may constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law. Despite mounting global criticism, Israeli authorities continue to advance settlement expansion in 2025, using a combination of legal, military, and infrastructural tools to impose new geopolitical realities on Palestinian territory.
Al Mayadeen
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
Israeli settlement expansion surges by 40% under Netanyahu
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are enduring a significant surge in settler attacks and an exponential expansion of illegal settlement outposts. According to Israeli media on Friday, there has been a 40% rise in the number of settlements under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the West Bank has witnessed a boom in settlement activity since the formation of Netanyahu's government at the end of 2022. The number of settlements increased from 128 to 178, accompanied by extensive demolitions of Palestinian homes. This expansion directly affects Palestinian communities through land confiscation and home demolitions. The channel emphasized that these measures aim to entrench Israeli control over the area and dismantle the viability of the so-called two-state solution. Settler violence has also intensified. On June 28, three Palestinians were killed and seven others injured during a deadly settler assault on the town of Kafr Malik in the central West Bank. Meanwhile, two days prior to the Channel 12 report, 14 ministers from Netanyahu's Likud Party and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana signed a letter urging the Prime Minister to annex the occupied territory immediately, as the Israeli political right intensifies pressure for full annexation. This includes efforts to legalize existing outposts and accelerate settlement construction in strategic areas. The channel noted that the scale and speed of settlement expansion are unprecedented. Meir Deutsch, CEO of the far-right Regavim movement, remarked, "No government has ever encouraged settlement as much as this one." He added that "Israel is managing Judea and Samaria as the homeowner for the first time since the state's establishment (1948/Palestinian Nakba)."According to Channel 12, at least 50 new settlements have been announced since the current government assumed office. Of these, 19 were pre-existing, seven were grazing farms, 14 were neighborhoods within other settlements, and 10 existed only on paper. Construction in existing settlements has reached record levels in the past two and a half years, particularly since early 2025. A total of 41,709 settler homes have been approved, exceeding the total from the previous six years combined. By the end of 2024, the number of illegal settlement outposts reached 214, with 66 established during the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. This represents a 300% increase compared to the two years prior. Most of these outposts are farming settlements occupying approximately 787 square kilometers, primarily in central and eastern West Bank. The rise in settlement activity is matched by a demographic increase. Between 2013 and 2023, the settler population in the West Bank grew by 38%, rising from 374,000 to 517,000, according to data from the Yesha settlement council. Read more: IOF demolish 1,000+ homes, turn West Bank camps into 'lifeless zones'
