A sign is placed in front of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem on August 16, 2023 (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Ramallah, November 8, 2025 (WAFA) – The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement said that the West Bank is on the verge of an unprecedented wave of colonial activity, as the pace of approvals for construction plans and the seizure of Palestinian lands is accelerating, especially after the occupation authorities approved at the end of last August the construction project in ( E1 ) east of occupied Jerusalem, which is considered the most dangerous of its kind in decades.
The office added in its weekly report, which monitors the period from November 1 to November 7 , 2025, that this coincides with the approach of the Israeli elections at the end of next year, or before that if the election date is brought forward, as members of the government, led by Smotrich, are racing to promote new colonial plans, exploiting his current position to intensify colonization and land theft in the West Bank, which prompted the newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” to say that “the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, has broken records in decisions to build in the settlements and in declaring lands in the West Bank as state lands,” and this is an accurate description of Smotrich’s policy, who has come to control everything related to colonial settlement activity in the West Bank.
The office continued, “Since the formation of Netanyahu’s government, 25,960 dunams have been declared as state land. To realize how serious this matter is, only 28,000 dunams have been declared in the past 27 years.”
The report noted that, in accordance with the broad powers he enjoys, Finance Minister and Settlement Minister in the Ministry of the Occupation Army, Bezalel Smotrich, announced last week that the construction of approximately 1,973 settlement units in the West Bank would be approved, as part of the construction wave launched by Smotrich since he took office. The so-called “Planning Administration in the Civil Administration” and the “Higher Planning Council in the West Bank” published the agenda for their upcoming meeting, during which the new plans are expected to be approved.
The office explained in its report that this move comes within the framework of Smotrich’s ongoing policy to strengthen and expand settlements throughout the West Bank. Among the projects expected to be approved are: 133 settlement units in Tapuach West (south of Nablus), 720 units in Avnei Hefetz (adjacent to Tulkarm to the east), 568 units in Einav (in the Tulkarm Governorate), approximately 178 units in Ganei Modi’in (in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate), approximately 246 units in Rosh Tzurim (on land belonging to the village of Nahalin in the Bethlehem Governorate), and approximately 128 units in Etz Efraim (on land belonging to the village of Mas’ha in the Salfit Governorate).
He continued: At the same time, the so-called “Higher Planning Council” approved, at the end of last October , a plan to build 1,300 new settlement units in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem. According to Israel’s Channel 14, these units will be built in the “Russian Mountain” neighborhood south of the Alon Shvut settlement, along with schools, public buildings, parks, and a large commercial area expected to serve neighboring settlements, making it the largest settlement plan in the area in some time. The occupation authorities also officially gave the green light to the “E1” settlement plan, which connects Jerusalem to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, severing the geographical contiguity of the West Bank from north to south, in a move that represents a strategic shift in the settlement map. The plan includes the construction of about 3,400 settlement units in an area that has been the subject of repeated “political promises” since the 1990s, when Ariel Sharon emphasized its importance in 1990 to create “Jewish continuity” and link Jerusalem to “Ma’ale Adumim,” while Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu later announced their intentions to settle in the area, but the plans remained confined to paper as a result of international and political pressure .
The report noted that since October 7 , 2023, a date that marked a radical shift in the political and security landscape, the settlers have viewed the subsequent events as a historic opportunity. That date, along with the ensuing developments and the brutal war on the Gaza Strip, was used as a launching pad for attacks on Palestinian villages and towns, and the seizure of vast tracts of land under the pretext of “security” and “protection.” The pace of settlement expansion, land confiscation, and attacks escalated to unprecedented levels, with the war providing a perfect pretext for establishing a new reality on the ground. The year 2024 saw a record increase in settlement plans, with 28,872 settlement units advancing to the planning and tendering stages, in addition to the declaration of more than 24,000 dunams as “state land”—representing half of all land seized under this designation since the Oslo Accords. As for the current year 2025, colonialism continued its leaps, with the approved plans exceeding 21,000 units in just a few months, thanks to weekly meetings of the “Supreme Planning Council”.
The report clarified that the issue was not limited to construction projects in settlements, but was accompanied by widespread land confiscations in the Palestinian territories. In March 2024 , Israel announced the seizure of 8,000 dunams in the Jordan Valley, followed by the seizure of 12,700 dunams in July of the same year—the largest land grab in 30 years. These measures, according to all estimates, aim to close off vital areas to Palestinians and pave the way for future settlement plans. This was also accompanied by the clear complicity of the occupying government in the establishment and funding of so-called colonial outposts. Consistent reports from Israeli, Palestinian, European, and international organizations revealed the extent of the Israeli government’s involvement in funding these outposts and supporting acts of violence perpetrated by settlers in various areas of the West Bank, with the goal of forcibly displacing the Palestinian population. This report, as well as the facts on the ground, reveal that with the help of the Israeli government, about 150 pastoral outposts have been established in recent years, dozens of them since October 7 , 2023, through which settlers have taken control of an area of 786,000 dunams, equivalent to 14% of the West Bank .
The report indicated that the seizure of Palestinian land is not only achieved through the establishment of these colonial pastoral outposts, but also through the subsequent attacks, harassment, and repeated acts of terrorism. The effectiveness of these actions is evident in the destruction of homes and residential centers, and the displacement of more than 60 Palestinian Bedouin communities. According to a report by the Israeli organization Yesh Din, which focused for two years on the area east of the Allon Road (the road extending from east Ramallah to the Jordan Valley), this area encompassed approximately 100,000 dunams and was home to seven Palestinian communities with a population of about 1,000 people just over two years ago. Eleven colonial pastoral outposts established in the area have succeeded in displacing these communities and forcibly removing them from their homes.
In this regard, the newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” recently revealed that the office of Settlement Minister Orit Strock of the Religious Zionist Party is transferring 75 million shekels to finance the “security components” of settlement points, which is the code name for colonial pastoral outposts, after Finance Minister Smotrich raised the budget of the Settlement Ministry, which is headed by the extremist minister, from 123 million to 391 million shekels, an increase of 320%, at a time when the budgets for education, social welfare and health suffered from significant cuts, according to the newspaper. The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture also funds these outposts under the heading of “pasture grants,” and during the period between 2017 and 2024, it transferred approximately 3 million shekels to them, while the “Jewish National Fund” invested approximately 4.7 million shekels in them, funded by volunteers, meaning that multiple parties are funding these colonial outposts, which aim primarily to displace Palestinians from their homes. The United Nations has documented the displacement of approximately 2,895 Palestinians since 2023 due to settler violence, including 636 Palestinians since the beginning of this year, as settler attacks escalated to record levels in 2024 and 2025, and the olive harvest season witnessed the widest wave of terrorism carried out by settlers under the protection of the occupation army and police against Palestinian farmers.
The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement reported that, in the context of the new wave of settlement expansion, the occupation authorities issued two new tenders for the construction of a settlement neighborhood in the “Adam/Givat Binyamin” settlement northeast of Jerusalem. This is part of a frantic race to impose new demographic and geographic realities that serve the “Greater Jerusalem” project. The first tender includes the construction of 342 settlement units distributed across five complexes, while the second includes 14 detached houses designated for reserve soldiers in the occupation army. This is part of a broader plan to link the settlement to the “Givat Gur Aryeh” settlement outpost, which was established last February adjacent to the town of Jaba’. Last Sunday, the occupation authorities also published an additional tender for the planning and construction of a new settlement complex in the “New Givat Givat” settlement northwest of Jerusalem, further tightening the settlement ring around the occupied capital. Additionally, the occupation authorities issued a new military order to seize approximately 5,856 dunams of Palestinian land in the Anata area. 5254 dunams were classified as “state land”, and 602 dunams were privately owned by Palestinian citizens from the town.
He stated that 16,000 dunams of the 34,000 dunams of land in the town of Anata are classified by the occupying power as state land. The occupation authorities also seized approximately 6 dunams of the town’s land through a “military order” under the name “seizure orders,” specifically Military Order No. T/65/25, which aims to construct a colonial road connecting the settlement of “Neve Prat” to Route 437.
In the same context, the Hebron Municipality revealed an old/new colonial plan that the occupation authorities are seeking to implement on the land of the central vegetable market (the old market), after the so-called “Planning and Building Committee in the Civil Administration” announced its intention to proceed with it to establish 63 colonial units distributed over two buildings, with a height of 6 floors above ground, and two floors for underground garages, in addition to a third building consisting of 3 floors, which includes educational classrooms, a library and a synagogue, with a total area estimated at about 12,500 square meters.
The municipality stated that this announcement constitutes a blatant infringement on its authority, a clear violation of the interests of the city and its residents, and a breach of the principles of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the confiscation, exploitation, or demolition of Palestinian property without justification. It added that it will take all available legal measures to challenge the decision, in order to protect the rights of its citizens and safeguard the public interest of the city. The mayor of Hebron, Tayseer Abu Sneineh, currently imprisoned by the Israeli occupation, had previously stated that “the market belongs to the Hebron municipality, which possesses all the necessary documentation, and that the municipality had won cases it filed against the occupation authorities regarding the market.” The market specialized in selling vegetables before the occupation authorities closed it to Palestinians following the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, perpetrated by the settler Baruch Goldstein on February 25, 1994, which resulted in the martyrdom of 29 Palestinians and injuries to at least 125 others.
The Israeli violations documented by the National Bureau for Defending the Land were as follows during the reporting period :
Jerusalem: Settlers attacked the Bedouin community of Al-Ma’azi, east of the town of Jaba’, throwing stones at residents’ homes and burning tires. Others attacked Palestinian land and property in the town of Umm Tuba. In the town of Anata, settlers established a new outpost on Palestinian land after Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by a bulldozer, stormed the area and began leveling land, erecting caravans, tents, and mobile homes. Israeli soldiers also raised the flag of the alleged “Temple” at the site.
In Khallat Sidra, near the town of Mikhmas, settlers attacked a community, destroying its water network and vandalizing homes. For several months, the community has been subjected to repeated attacks by settlers aimed at displacing its residents.
In the Al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, the Jerusalem occupation authorities forced Musa Badran to demolish his house, and the Darbas family in Al-Issawiya to demolish an animal pen under the pretext of lack of a permit.
Hebron: An armed settler shot and killed 32-year-old Ahmed Rabhi Al-Atrash at the northern entrance to the city. Armed settlers assaulted farmers and livestock herders in the village of Al-Fakhit in Masafer Yatta, and farmers east of the town of Sa’ir. They released their livestock among the farmers’ trees in the Sa’ir wilderness, causing damage to a number of trees planted in the area.
In the town of Idhna, settlers plowed Palestinian-owned land in the al-Jalatiya area, preparing it for seizure for the recently established settlement outpost. Settlers also broke and cut down dozens of olive trees in the village of Susya, belonging to Ahmad Jabr al-Nawaj’ah.
Bethlehem: Settlers stormed a house in the Rashayda desert in the Sahba area, vandalizing its contents and damaging property under the protection of the Israeli army. In the village of Al-Minya, three Palestinians were wounded by settler gunfire. The head of the Al-Minya village council reported that a group of armed settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, attacked residents in the vicinity of the village, firing directly at them. Three Palestinians sustained gunshot wounds to their lower extremities and were subsequently hospitalized.
In Wadi Rahal, Israeli occupation forces demolished several residential and agricultural structures and filled in two wells belonging to Fouad Shousha, Hassan Issa Ahmed Salem, and Salah Badawneh. The occupation forces also assaulted several Palestinians in Nahalin while they were harvesting olives on their land, and attacked olive pickers in al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, as they were heading to their land in the Ain al-Qassis area, west of the town. In Marah Rabah, settlers burned olive trees after blocking the main road and throwing stones at Palestinian vehicles near Tuqu’, then set fire to olive trees at the village’s main entrance .
Ramallah: The occupation authorities issued a military order to uproot trees from the lands of the villages of Ras Karkar and Kafr Ni’ma in the western region and Jabal al-Risan in Ras Karkar, and al-Awrid in Kafr Ni’ma “for military purposes.”
The targeted land area is about 15 dunams, while settlers stormed the “Al-Marah” neighborhood at the main western entrance to the town of Deir Dibwan and smashed and burned two vehicles. They also tried to storm a mosque in the neighborhood, smashed its outer windows, and attacked the home of one of the families on the outskirts of the town.
In the town of Sinjil, settlers attacked citizens while they were picking olives and forced them to leave their lands at gunpoint, and they also detained a number of activists.
In the village of Al-Mughair, settlers damaged crops after grazing their sheep in the lands near the Al-Khala’il area, close to the citizens’ homes, and deliberately cut and damaged olive tree branches in the area.
In the village of Burqa, settlers set fire to two vehicles, one belonging to citizen Youssef Ahmed Awad, which was completely burned, and the other belonging to citizen Saad Samrin, which was partially burned.
Settlers stole olives from citizens’ lands in the town of Atara in the area located on Mount “Khirbet Tarfain” east of the town.
Nablus: Settlers from the outpost on Ras Zeid in the town of Huwara attacked the home of Abdul Hakim Amer Deek, setting parts of it on fire. In the neighboring town of Beita, settlers attacked homes in the Dhahra area, pelting them with stones and breaking the windows of a vehicle. Residents confronted the settlers.
In the village of Asira al-Qibliya, settlers began paving a colonial road in the Wadi al-Maghayir area, southwest of the village, accompanied by a bulldozer. In the neighboring village of Duma, citizen Daoud Ali Salawda was injured when settlers assaulted him while he was picking olives on his land, and they stole the olives and some of the tools used for picking.
In the village of Qaryut, settlers raided the Wadi al-Bir area and began harvesting and stealing olives. Meanwhile, a guard from the Yitzhar settlement, accompanied by several settlers, attacked Palestinians harvesting olives on land between the village of Burin and the town of Huwara, assaulting several and forcing them to leave. Settlers, protected by the Israeli army, also attacked farmers and international solidarity activists during an olive harvest event in Jabal Qamas, east of the town of Beita, setting fire to several olive trees and stealing some bags of olives. Three Palestinian women were injured in an attack by settlers in the village of Tell. Settlers also attacked the village of Jurish, setting fire to a resident’s vehicle and spray-painting racist and hateful slogans on the walls of homes and properties under the protection of Israeli forces, who were present and prevented residents from extinguishing the fires. Settlers also attacked farmers harvesting olives south of the town of Qusra, assaulting them. In the Al-Masoudiya archaeological area northwest of Nablus, settlers destroyed hundreds of agricultural seedlings after grazing livestock in them and vandalized 17 dunams planted with 830 seedlings belonging to the sons of Asaad Ghanem.
Salfit: The occupation forces prevented farmers from picking olives near the northern entrance to the city of Salfit, while settlers assaulted a number of Israeli solidarity activists belonging to the “Together” and “Rabbis for Human Rights” movements, in the Wadi Abbas area located between the towns of Deir Istiya and Qarawat Bani Hassan, resulting in injuries at the site .
Qalqilya: Settlers stormed the village of Kafr Qaddum, specifically the northern area of the village known as “Al-Wajh Al-Shami,” amidst the firing of live ammunition, sound bombs, and toxic tear gas at the citizens, while settlers set fire to vehicles in the same area, as the attack resulted in the burning of three vehicles, two agricultural tractors, and a bulldozer .
Tulkarm: Settlers set out from the Ramin Plain area, where the pastoral outpost is located, towards the neighboring town of Beit Lid, and blocked the road to the plastics factories, and attacked passing citizens’ vehicles and farmers with stones and sticks, and set fire to an agricultural tractor, a vehicle, and part of an agricultural facility on the outskirts of the town, while the occupation army fired toxic tear gas canisters towards the residents who came out to confront the attack.
The occupation forces also attacked a group of farmers picking olives in the lands of Shufa village, where they stormed the agricultural lands in the “Safha Baria” area of the village, attacked the farmers while they were picking olives and arrested the farmer Haitham Saleh .
The Jordan Valley: Settlers erected a structure near the Al-Hamma spring, close to the tents of citizens who use it to irrigate their livestock, with the aim of stealing it and forcibly displacing the citizens from it. Meanwhile, other armed men stormed the Khirbet Makhoul community in the northern Jordan Valley and roamed among the citizens’ tents, causing fear among the children and women.
Settlers continued to fence off more Palestinian-owned land in Al-Farsiya in the northern Jordan Valley. Local sources said that settlers are continuing to fence off more Palestinian land in the area, effectively seizing it.
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