Palestinian monitor reports Israel advancing plans for nearly 900 new settler units in West Bank

The Palestinian anti-settlement monitoring group Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) said in a weekly report on Saturday that it had monitored 11 settlement plans in the occupied West Bank. According to the commission, the plans include the growth of residential areas, the establishment of industrial and commercial zones, and changes to land-use classifications and construction rights across various West Bank provinces.

The CWRC said an analysis of the plans reveals three interconnected strategies: increasing the number of settler units, converting farmland and open spaces into urban and industrial areas, and expanding services and facilities to ensure settlements can remain in place and continue expanding. The plans are spread across the provinces of Qalqilya, Salfit, Nablus, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, and Hebron, along with the so-called Gush Etzion Regional Council area in the southern West Bank.

According to the CWRC, 288 units are supposed to be constructed in the Kedumim settlement, built on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum, 225 in the Beit Hagai settlement, 200 in the Talmon settlement, 98 in the Ariel settlement, and 83 in the Alon Moreh settlement. The figures add up to nearly 900 new units.

The commission warned that the conversion of agricultural and open lands into residential and commercial areas for illegal settlers negatively impacts West Bank territory, further limiting the expansion and advancement of Palestinian communities while solidifying Israeli dominance in the occupied regions. Approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers reside in 156 unauthorized settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds, according to the report. Palestinian figures cited by the commission state that settlers frequently engage in actions aimed at forcibly removing Palestinians from their land.

The United Nations considers these settlements illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions, as they are established on occupied territories. Numerous resolutions from the UN Security Council have prohibited Israel's settlement activities. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's long-standing occupation of historical Palestine is unlawful and called for the removal of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds. However, like many previous rulings, these decisions have not been acted upon, the report noted. According to Mehr News, the CWRC's weekly report was released on Saturday.