Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

October 17, 2025

1. Settlers Establish New Outpost to Encircle Umm Al Kheir, Court Pauses Move-In
2. Eviction Date Looms for Six Families Facing Displacement from Homes in Silwan
3. As The Olive Harvest Starts, Settler Terrorism Reaches New Heights
4. Israeli Commitment Against West Bank Annexation is Not in Final Ceasefire Deal
5. International Crisis Group Report: “Sovereignty in All but Name: Israel’s Quickening Annexation of the West Bank”
6. Bonus Reads

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Settlers Establish New Outpost to Encircle Umm Al Kheir, Court Pauses Move-In

Two months ago, Israeli settlers began building yet another outpost surrounding the tiny Palestinian village of Umm al Khair in the South Hebron Hills, almost completing the encirclement of the 200 people who live in village by the Carmel settlement and its illegal outposts. The settlers cleared land and moved in caravans into the area, within spitting distance of Palestinian homes, as part of their years-long effort to expand their control of land in the area and compel/coerce the displacement of Umm al-Kheir. It was during the settlers illegal preparation of the land for this new outpost that Awdah Hathaleen, a prominent activist in the area and a protagonist in the critically acclaimed documentary No Other Land, was shot and killed by the internationally sanctioned settler Yinon Levy.

On October 12th, the Jerusalem District Court issued an order temporarily barred settlers’ from inhabiting the new outpost while the Court considers the underlying legal challenge which seeks to compel settlers to remove the caravans from the land. Settlers promptly violated the Court order, and moved more caravans into the area the very next day.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“For months, all enforcement authorities have known full well about the massive, blatantly illegal construction project taking place on the village’s land — and not only did they do nothing to stop it, they actually secured and assisted it in various ways. It is depressing and sad, though not surprising, that it takes a court order to make the army and the police do their duty. We hope the order will give the residents of Um al-Kheir, who are suffering under the settlers’ ongoing harassment, some space to breathe and live normal lives.”

Eviction Date Looms for Six Families Facing Displacement from Homes in Silwan

Six Palestinian families living in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem are facing an impending eviction date ordering them to vacate their longtime homes sometime between October 19 and November 4. If the families do not agree to their own displacement, Israeli police will remove them by force. At this point, all legal remedies have been exhausted and the Nasser, Rajabi, Shweiki, and Odeh families are set to be forcibly displaced under at the behest of Israeli settlers and the facilitation of Israeli legal courts, a system Ir Amim describes as: “proceedings [that] are underpinned by structural discrimination rooted in Jewish supremacy and a system rigged against Palestinians from the outset, which denies them equal access to justice.”

For more background on these cases, see Peace Now’s reporting.

Peace Now reports that 16 families have already been evicted from the Batan al-Hawa section of Silwan – 6 in this year alone – with settlers facilitating their displacement and taking up residence in the vacated homes. There are five additional cases affecting dozens of families that are at various stages in the Jerusalem Magistrate Court.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This is a real emergency. If the government does not intervene, and if pressure is not brought to bear on it to act, we may witness in the coming weeks families literally thrown out into the street and settlers taking their place. This is a terrible injustice, based on discriminatory laws and on the ongoing exploitation and marginalization of East Jerusalem residents. The dispossession of Palestinians from their legally purchased homes in Silwan, under the guise of realizing a “right of return” for Jews, is an indelible stain on the State of Israel. The government can and must stop the forced expulsion of an entire community—the responsibility lies on its shoulders.”

As The Olive Harvest Starts, Settler Terrorism Reaches New Heights

The Palestinian olive harvest is now underway, and as in past years presents a massive target for violent settlers to terrorize Palestinians attempting to work their land – and in fact settler violence has rapidly increased from already high levels. Between 7 and 13 October, OCHA documented 71 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians, 36 of which were directly connected to the olive harvest. As a result of the documented attacks, 99 Palestinians were injured and 1 killed. These attacks have included:

• On October 8th settlers were throwing stones at Palestinian cars near the village of Deir Jarir, located near Ramallah. One Palestinian was shot and killed when settlers opened fire on a group of people who had gathered to chase off the stone-throwers. This is the 12th settler attack on Deir Jarir this year, according to OCHA.
• On October 9th, settlers raided the village of Atara, near Ramallah, damaging homes and cars. Settlers established a new outpost near Atara in August 2025, and have since used the outpost as a launching point to routinely attack Atara. OCHA has counted at least 8 attacks so far.
• On October 10th, settlers attacked the Palestinians harvesting olives near Beita, resulting in an injury to an AFP photographer. Settlers further seized harvesting equipment and burned 12 vehicles.
• On October 12th, settlers staged a large-scale attack on the village of Burqa during which they cut down over 800 fruit trees (including olive trees, citrus trees, and grapevines).
• On October 13th, settlers accompanied by Israeli forces attacked Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem. Settlers assaulted a family of six which was attempting to harvest grapes, and later assaulted the emergency responders who came to assist the victims. Settlers used sticks, molotov cocktails and dogs to injure the family, and later burned their vehicle.
• On October 13th, settlers attacked the village of Ein Yabrud, near Ramallah, and burned down a house. 
• On October 16th, the two different groups of Paelstinians harvesting olives near Burin were attacked by settlers from the Yitzhar settlement. The harvesters were chased off and their farming equipment was stolen.

Israeli Commitment Against West Bank Annexation is Not in Final Ceasefire Deal

According to leaked reports, an earlier version of the Trump ceasefire deal included a commitment that Israel would not annex the West Bank. Despite Trump’s press conference weeks before where he said publicly that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, ultimately the commitment was not included in the final ceasefire deal.

Nonetheless, The Times of Israel reports that the Knesset is set to reconvene from its summer break and immediately take up a few bills that would affect the annexation of the West Bank. A Knesset insider told The Times of Israel:

“there is a majority in the Knesset to annex today…The reason it’s not on the agenda is because Netanyahu has made it very clear that he’s not going to support anything of the sort. You can say it’s because of Trump. You can say it’s because of his own fear of global isolation or a regional war or whoever knows what it is that he’s thinking. But if there was a secret ballot in the Knesset today, a majority would definitely annex.”

The source further told the outlet that Netanyahu will find a way to postpone voting on the annexation bills, without outright opposing them, until the next election in October 2026.

International Crisis Group Report: “Sovereignty in All but Name: Israel’s Quickening Annexation of the West Bank”

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published a new report entitled, “Sovereignty in All but Name: Israel’s Quickening Annexation of the West Bank.” The report responds to European states offering recognition to the State of Palestine, a recognition with ICG calls a “strategy that should also have teeth,” taking seriously that “annexation is not a future threat – it is already under way.” The report urges international actors to do what they can to “halt the further consolidation of Israel’s annexation and to begin the difficult work of persuading Israel to reverse course.”

The Executive summary of the report ends:

“The impediments to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict are longstanding and immense, and a body of informed commentary argues that they are indeed insurmountable. Perhaps they are, but there is no world in which the further progress of annexation will produce a better result for the Palestinian people – or, for that matter, for Israelis. Israel may never alter its posture in the West Bank, but if outside actors play a long game and act concertedly, they will optimise their chances of changing its behaviour. Absent that, the status quo, which denies the Palestinian people not just a state, but also basic rights, will only become further entrenched.”

Bonus Reads

1.  “Sweeping Israeli actions transform West Bank in shadow of Gaza war” (Washington Post, 9/28/25)
2. “Ben-Gvir’s Aide Suspected of Preventing Weapon Seizure of Settler Who Shot at Palestinians” (Haaretz, 9/29/25)
3. “Israel detains two Palestinian children in Hebron under claims of ‘espionage‘” (Middle East Eye, 10/1/25)
4. “The Trump-Netanyahu Peace Deal Promises Indefinite Occupation” (The Intercept, 10/1/25)
5. “Israeli bulldozers in West Bank carve up hopes for Palestinian state” (Reuters, 10/2/25)
6. “Bureaucratic Antics for Three West Bank Villages Show How an Israeli Annexation Began Long Ago” (Haaretz, 10/12/25)
7. “At This West Bank Checkpoint, ‘It’s Not Just Movement That’s Blocked. It’s Time Itself’” (Haaretz, 10/13/2025)
8. “Israeli settlements close in on West Bank herding community” (Al-Monitor, 10/10/25)
9. “Despite war’s end, Smotrich calls for renewed Jewish settlement in Gaza” (Ynet, 10/14/25)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 31, 2025

1. Another Palestinian Community Displaced by Settler Terrorism
2. Settlers Takeover Ein Samiya Spring, Creating Water Crisis for Dozens of Ramallah-Area Villages
3. Nu’man Faces Demolition As Decades of “Silent Transfer” Reach Breaking Point
4. Smotrich Calls Gaza Settlements a “Realistic Work Plan” as Activists March to Gaza
5. Beloved South Hebron Hills Activist Shot Dead By Sanctioned Settler
6. Bonus Reads

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Another Palestinian Community Displaced by Settler Terrorism

On July 27th,over 100 residents of the Deir Alla bedouin community fled their village under the escalating, violent encroachment and coercive threats of Israeli settlers. Many families from Deir Alla had previously left the village, located in the Jordan Valley, and a violent series of settler attacks over the last week coerced the remaining few into leaving.

On Wednesday July 23rd, settlers illegally built a new outpost using an abandoned home inside of the village. Residents notified the IDF, which visited the settlers the next day but did not make the settlers leave. That night after the army left, Haaretz reports about 30 settlers attacked Deir Alla – vandalizing homes and threatening residents with arson and expulsion. On Friday night the settlers followed through on their threats and set fire to buildings in Deir Alla. Israeli authorities did respond to this attack, detaining and later releasing 12 settlers. Then, on Saturday the settlers attacked again, vandalizing more homes, destroying solar panels and the local water network, and stealing goods. Later that day, settlers returned to the village and threatened residents – telling them to abandon their homes or face violence. Under these conditions, residents of Deir Alla were expelled from the village. Once the Palestinians had left, settlers destroyed all structures in the abandoned village.

Settlers Takeover Ein Samiya Spring, Creating Water Crisis for Dozens of Ramallah-Area Villages

Following years of attempts and weeks of escalating attacks, on July 21st settlers appear to have succeeded in taking control over the Ein Samiya spring and a nearby pool, located near Ramallah. The settlers also vandalized and damaged pumping stations which transferred water from the spring to at least 30 nearby Palestinian communities. The Jerusalem Water Undertaking told Haaretz that the damage to the pumping stations has resulted in a complete shut down of the pumps and pipes, which has already resulted in prolonged water outages affecting 32 Palestinian communities. The settlers’ seizure of the spring has created a water crisis.

Haaretz reports the settlers have renamed the spring and launched a crowdfunding campaign to support and advance their theft of resources in that area. Several settlers have posted videos from the spring, celebrating their theft and announcing plans to divert water to the spring from a nearby stream. The effort raised at least $33,000 USD in its first days.

Nu’man Faces Demolition As Decades of “Silent Transfer” Reach Breaking Point

Ir Amim reports the imminent threat of demolition facing the Palestinian village of Nu’man, located in the expanded borders of Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. After decades of fighting the Israeli bureaucracy for the ability to remain on their land and in their homes, on June 10th Israeli authorities delivered demolition notices to each and every home in Nu’man.

Ir Amim writes:

“To live in Nu’man is to face a slow, silent form of erasure—one cloaked in law, bureaucracy, and strategic neglect. The residents’ struggle to remain is part of a broader one—in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza—against a system designed to make Palestinian life in the land impossible.”

Smotrich Calls Gaza Settlements a “Realistic Work Plan” as Activists March to Gaza

What was once considered a fringe idea to build settlements in Gaza promoted by a small number of fringe settlers has now been embraced and advanced by the Israeli government – with the threat of annexation being used as part of Israel’s negotiations with Hamas over the end of Israel’s genocide. 

Last week, the Knesset held a conference advocating for and planning to take up Donald Trump’s idea to transform the Gaza strip into a “Gaza Riviera.” The Knesset discussed a plan, that, according to The Guardian, provides for the construction of 850,000 settlement units, construction of hi-tech “smart cities” that trade cryptocurrency, and a metro system that runs across the territory.

Speaking at a conference commemorating the anniversary of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich said there is a “realistic work plan” to build settlements in Gaza, saying: “We did not sacrifice these prices to transfer Gaza from one Arab to another. Gaza is an inseparable part of the Land of Israel.”

Shortly after Smotrich’s remarks, 22 members of the Knesset (including two Cabinet Ministers) signed a letter to Defense Minister Katz asking that he permit a large group of settlers to enter the northern Gaza Strip in order to begin planning for the construction of a settlement.  The Nachala settler group, which was organizing the group and letter, put out a statement on X saying: 

“The demand is being made as part of the call to settle the northern sector as an immediate first step toward reconquest, expulsion, and settlement of the entire Gaza Strip…The northern border was conquered and expelled — now is the time to settle.”

The next day, hundreds of settlers organized by Daniella Weiss and the Nachala settler group marched towards the Gaza border.  Weiss has previously said that she has a list of 1,000 Israeli families ready to move to the Gaza strip to reestablish settlements there.

Beloved South Hebron Hills Activist Shot Dead By Sanctioned Settler

Awdah Hathaleen – a prominent Palestinian activist in the South Hebron Hills – was shot and killed by an armed Israeli settler who was reportedly attempting to destroy a main water pipeline serving Palestinian homes in Umm Al-Khair, located in the South Hebron Hills. Levy was detained by Israeli authorities, but quickly released. According to his lawyers, Levy claims he fired in self-defense. Video from the incident shows Levy firing wildly, and +972 Magazine says its analysis of video from the event shows Levy attacked the residents.

Hathaleen was a key activist and advocate bringing attention to the severe suffering and violence Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills are facing because of state-backed Israeli settlers trying to expel Palestinians from the land. Hathaleen participated in the globally acclaimed film “No Other Land” depicting the struggle of communities there and the routing violence of settlers.

Yinon Levy is a notoriously violent settler who built an illegal outpost called Meitarim Farm on lands near Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. Canada, France, the UK, and the European Union have current sanctions placed on Levy for his involvement in violence (including the violent expulsion of the Zanuta community) and illegal settlement activity; the U.S. previously had sanctions on Levy, but President Trump reversed those sanctions when he took office.

Bonus Reads

• “Humanitarian Situation Update #310 | West Bank” (OCHA, 7/31/25)
• “The Israeli Knesset passed a motion supporting the annexation of the West Bank. Here’s what that means.” (Mondoweiss, 7/25/25)
• “Israel’s destroyer-in-chief in Gaza lives in a settlement home marked for demolition” (+972 Magazine, 7/30/25)
• “The humanitarian crisis facing 42,000 forcibly displaced Palestinians in the West Bank” (Mondoweiss, 7/28/25)
• “The Violent Gaza-ification of the West Bank” (Time, 7/23/25)
• Thread: “Hilltop youth are fundraising for the development of an outpost in Area B of the West Bank. This is part of a greater trend. More background in the thread.” (Yehuda Shaul, 7/27/25)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement and annexation activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

January 17, 2025

1. Settlement Advancement Continue on Weekly Basis
2. Judge Rules on Five Cases, All in Favor of Settlers Claims in Batan al-Hawa
3. New Bimkom-Ir Amim Report: Planning in East Jerusalem Completely Halted by New Protocol
4. New Data Confirms: Settlers Face Virtually NO Accountability for Crimes Against Palestinians & Their Property
5. Al-Haq and Partners File Additional Info on Booking.Com Settlement Business
6. Trump Invites Settler Leaders to Attend Inauguration
7. Bonus Reads

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Settlement Advancement Continue on Weekly Basis

Peace Now reports the High Planning Council was scheduled to convene on January 15th to advance plans for 372 new settlement units, all planned for the Beitar Illit settlement. This is the seventh week in a row the HPC has met to approve settlement construction.

The HPC is scheduled to meet again next week, on January 22nd, for the eighth consecutive week. At that meeting, the HPC is expected to give final approval to a plan for the construction of 184 new settlement units in the Migdalim settlement.

Peace Now writes:

“Since the current Netanyahu government took office, record numbers of housing units have been advanced in the West Bank. In 2023, the HPC approved 12,349 housing units—a record high. In 2024, 9,884 housing units were approved. The transition to weekly planning approvals is the result of policy changes introduced by the Netanyahu-Smotrich government. One key decision, made in June 2023, abolished the requirement for the Defense Minister’s approval at every stage of advancing settlement plans. Previously, settlement construction plans required prior approval from the Defense Minister. In recent years, the Defense Minister limited settlement planning sessions to approximately four times a year, resulting in the approval of thousands of units in each session.

In recent weeks, however, a significant change has occurred, with the HPC convening every week to approve a few hundred housing units in each meeting. This systematic approach aims to normalize settlement planning and attract less public and international attention and criticism.”

Judge Rules on Five Cases, All in Favor of Settlers Claims in Batan al-Hawa

Peace Now reports that the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court has ruled in favor of Israeli settlers in four cases (with a fifth ruling expected soon), resulting in the impending eviction of Palestinians from their longtime homes in the Batan al-Hawa section of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem in favor of the settlers. The five cases will result in 27 Palestinian families (131 individuals, mostly children) being forcibly displaced from their homes. The Court gave the families a six month deadline.

The Court’s ruling accepts settlers’ claim to own the land on which the Palestinians’ homes are located, homes which the Court recognized were legally purchased by Palestinians in the 1960s. Regardless of the validity of the home ownership, the Court recognized the settler’s ownership of the land under a discriminatory Israeli law that allows Jews to “reclaim” property and land that was owned by Jews prior to 1948. This law is being used by settlers to achieve mass displacement of Palestinians across East Jerusalem.

Peace Now writes: 

“This is an injustice and a crime against a vulnerable population living under occupation in East Jerusalem. The dispossession of Palestinians from their homes in Silwan, enabled by the application of the Jewish ‘right of return,’ represents an indelible stain on the State of Israel. The Israeli judicial system has failed to protect the fundamental rights of Palestinians to their homes, effectively endorsing the racist and messianic policies of the current Israeli government. A responsible government would halt the forced expulsions of this community. Tragically, our government demonstrates anything but responsibility in any regard. The International Court of Justice has explicitly addressed the discriminatory legal framework and Israel’s settlement policy in East Jerusalem in its advisory opinion, declaring these practices a violation of international law.”

Ir Amim writes:

“Since the outbreak of the war, there has been a dramatic spike in the number of court decisions authorizing evictions of Palestinian families in favor of settler groups. Over the past several months, the courts have ruled to evict a total of 17 families (households), numbering some 100 individuals–the majority of whom are from Batan al-Hawa.”

New Bimkom-Ir Amim Report: Planning in East Jerusalem Completely Halted by New Protocol

Ir Amim and Bimkom have released a new report examining the recent intensification of Israel systematical denial of the ability for Palestinians to plan for construction in East Jerusalem. In 2023 Israel replaced the traditional “Muktar Protocol” with a new process which has resulted in a near total freeze on planning for Palestinians on unregistered private property.

The report explains:

“In comparison to the “Mukhtar Protocol,” the new protocol has had a detrimental impact on private residential planning (and building) in East Jerusalem4. According to the new protocol, planning and building submissions are required to include Jordanian property tax certificates from the early 1960s or earlier (or Israeli property tax until the year 2000) along with records detailing the historical chain of ownership up to the present. These requirements, usually demanded only as part of SOLT procedures– which are problematic in themselves– are new to the planning process. Additionally, the new protocol requires that the District Planning Bureau approach state authorities, such as the Custodian of Absentee Property (CAP), the General Custodian (GC), the Israel Land Authority (ILA), the Municipality, and the SOLT registrar to check whether they have claims on the same land. In the past, the SOLT registrar was not on this list, and the Planning Bureau often did not wait for responses from the other entities to proceed.

Now, the SOLT registrar has been in effect given the right of veto within the planning process. The added requirements present East Jerusalem Palestinians with two difficulties – a bureaucratic and a fundamental one. The bureaucratic difficulty is related to the challenge of obtaining the necessary documents. The fundamental difficulty is the real danger of losing land under the Absentee Property Law, which is applied through the new protocol, as it is via SOLT.”

New Data Confirms: Settlers Face Virtually NO Accountability for Crimes Against Palestinians & Their Property

Yesh Din’s newly updated tracking shows that 94% of criminal investigations into ideological offenses committed by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past 20 years have been closed without indictments. Further, Yesh Din has found insufficient investigations into 81% of the cases, displaying “a longstanding systemic and deliberate failure in law enforcement responses to ideologically motivated crime against Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Yesh Din further explains that the larger context of this data paints an even more dire picture. They find 66% of Palestinian victims chose not to file complaints against Israeli offenders at all – meaning the data does not tell the full story. Palestinians victims of Israeli violence routinely cite a lack of faith in the Israel Police and trust that the Israeli authorities in their decision not to file a complaint.

The picture is clear: violence is a policy. Settler violence is part of a systematic approach aimed at expanding control over West Bank territory by making Palestinian lives unbearable and pushing them off their lands.

Yesh Din writes:

“This reflects the ongoing failure of Israeli authorities to enforce the law against Israeli citizens who commit serious crimes against Palestinians and their property. For two decades, we have monitored this phenomenon and provided legal assistance to Palestinian victims. The new data underscores the lack of deterrence and the lenient policies of Israeli law enforcement toward ideological crimes. Most investigations are closed on grounds such as “unknown perpetrator” or “lack of evidence,” highlighting negligent and ineffective investigations. Only 3% of cases resulted in convictions, giving offenders a sense of immunity from accountability for their actions while Palestinians whose rights are violated remain unprotected by the law.”

Al-Haq and Partners File Additional Info on Booking.Com Settlement Business

Al-Haq and partners have filed additional evidence against Booking.com accusing the travel company of profiting from stolen land through its decision to promote rentals located in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The new evidence, which was submitted to a court in the Netherlands where the case was filed in 2023, accuses Booking.com of adding to the number of listings it hosts in settlements – from 13 rentals to 39 rentals in East Jerusalem over the past year.

The complainants write:

“In our complaint, we argue that by promoting and listing properties in illegal settlements, Booking.com directly supports the normalisation and economic sustainability of these unlawful practices. The company provides financial backing to settlers and their enterprises, furthering the displacement of Palestinians and solidifying settlement expansion. This conduct sustains Israel’s settler-colonial regime and violations of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits population transfer into occupied territories. We have substantiated our claims thoroughly. For instance, the additional evidence builds on the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which reaffirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements and underscored the responsibility of states to prevent economic activities that perpetuate them.”

Trump Invites Settler Leaders to Attend Inauguration

Settlers leaders from the powerful Yesha Council are gleefully celebrating their invitation to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump, who is being sworn into office on January 20th.  Yesha Council Chairman and Binyamin Regional Council Head Israel Ganz, Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan, Oranit Council Head Or Piron-Zomer, and Yesha Council CEO Omer Rahamim all plan to attend as official guests.

The Times of Israel reports the delegation plans to deliver a letter thanking Trump for “redeeming” Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights during his previous presidency.

Speaking about the delegations plans, a Yesha Council official told Israel Hayom:

“Our objective is to strengthen existing connections and forge new ones. Washington’s attention is elsewhere at present. Trump is focused on Greenland sovereignty matters, not Israel’s concerns in Judea and Samaria. Timing is crucial. We must proceed strategically and appropriately.”

In a statement to Israel Hayom, Yesha Council Chairman Israel Ganz said: 

“We represent Judea and Samaria residents in standing with our allies and President-elect Trump at this historic moment. The administration’s invitation reflects our shared Biblical values with the US. We face a common moral challenge against global threats, with Judea and Samaria settlements serving as the frontline defense for Israel, America, and the free world. We envision achieving transformative progress that will ensure global stability for generations, and we support Trump’s leadership in this endeavor. Our ongoing dialogue with senior administration officials continues to advance these goals.”

Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan told Israel Hayom: 

“Our delegation brings the blessing of the communities in Judea and Samaria to the new administration. Years of relationship-building with our newly elected American friends have created this pivotal opportunity for Israel, particularly its government, to achieve significant advances in strengthening our presence in the Land of Israel. Our unified approach underscores the importance of maintaining strong ties with the incoming American administration and bolstering support for the communities in Judea and Samaria, both internationally and among US Jewish communities.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Defense Chief Cancels Detention Without Trial for Settlers Ahead of ‘Terrorists’ Release in Gaza Hostage Deal” (Haaretz)​
2. “Humanitarian Situation Update #256 | West Bank” (OCHA)
3. “Israeli minister asks PM to back plan for a million Jews in Samaria” (JNS)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

December 20, 2024

1. De Facto Annexation: Israel Applies Domestic Urban Renewal Law to Settlements, Easing High-Density Construction
2. High Court Orders Illegal Settler Construction Dismantled
3. Knesset Caucus to Push Bill Preventing West Bank Exit
4. Israeli Demolitions Continue Alarming Spike
5. Israel is Expanding Settlements in the Golan Heights, As Army Moves to Expand Occupation of Syrian Land 
6. Bonus Reads

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De Facto Annexation: Israel Applies Domestic Urban Renewal Law to Settlements, Easing High-Density Construction

In an act of de facto annexation of the settlements, Peace Now reports that the Israeli Commander of the Central Command has signed a military order applying domestic Israeli laws on urban renewal. The order establishes a new body called the “Government Authority for Urban Renewal in Judea and Samara,” to be staffed and funded with the same people and budgets as the domestic domestic authority – essentially just expanding the jurisdiction of the existing body. This authority, which is funded by Israeli taxpayer money, will be able to incentivize large-scale, high-density settlement housing projects through various tax breaks and exemptions, in so doing diverting public funds to the settlements. Public reporting suggests that up to 10,000 new settlement housing units can be advanced through this new authority in 2025.

Peace Now explains: 

“This means that government budgets can now be directed to assist in the planning and implementation of eviction-rebuild projects or other urban renewal projects in settlements, and to encourage massive, high-density construction. In recent years, settlements have begun to build high-rise buildings, even towers. The new military order will make it easier for settlers to advance construction plans in built-up areas using the evacuation-reconstruction method, so that both the developers, the current homeowners, and the settlement enterprise will benefit from the change, while Israeli interests will lose out.”

High Court Orders Illegal Settler Construction Dismantled

Emek Shaveh and Yesh Din report that the Israeli High Court of Justice has accepted a petition to stop the illegal settlement construction at the historical and sacred site Nabi Abner, located northwest of Ramallah (jointly filed by Emek Shaveh, Yesh Din, and the Palestinian residents of Ras Karakar and Deir Ammar on whose land the site is located). In its decision, the High Court criticized the State for its involvement and facilitation of illegal settler construction on the land – and ordered that the buildings and infrastructure be dismantled, and that the site be restored to its previous condition within six months.

Indeed, settlers began harassing Palestinians at the Nabi Abner site more than seven years ago. The IDF opted to prevent Palestinians from accessing their historical land instead of preventing settlers from illegally entering the area, violently harassing the landowners, and harming the agriculture they tended to. Eventually, settlers had full control of the site, even building concrete pools and pergolas to transform it into an Israeli tourist site. The construction damaged antiquities at the site, which included ancient springs, aqueducts, artifacts as well as the ruins of a Palestinians village.

Yesh Din posted on X:

“The ruling upholds Palestinians’ rights to property and free access to heritage and recreational sites. This is a significant and just victory. After seven years of legal and public struggle, the Court ruled what should have been self-evident: the state is obligated to protect Palestinians’ property rights and allow them to preserve their heritage, even when settlers seek to turn the site into a recreational site for themselves.”

Emek Shaveh said in a statement: 

“We welcome the court’s ruling following a lengthy legal and public struggle which affirmed the obvious: The state is obligated to protect the property rights of Palestinians and allow them to preserve their heritage even when settlers desire to turn the site into their personal recreational and leisure destination.”

Knesset Caucus to Push Bill Preventing West Bank Exit

The Israeli Knesset is set to revive a bill that is proposed at blocking any future decision by the Israeli government to cede territory in the West Bank and Israeli territorial waters in the context of a peace deal. Current Israeli Basic Law requires a public referendum or special majority vote in the Knesset for any proposal to cede territory in Israel, East Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights – – but the law does not currently include the West Bank. The proposed bill would add the West Bank and Israeli territorial waters to the covered territories.

In a statement accompanying the bill, the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus (which will reportedly be submitted soon) says that the bill is intended to “effectively prevent the establishment of a Palestinians state in any future arrangement.” The focus on Israeli territorial waters comes in light of Yair Lapid’s 2022 maritime agreement with Lebanon.

Israeli Demolitions Continue Alarming Spike

OCHA reports that on on December 16th Israeli forces carried out the demolition of two Palestinian structures, rendering 78 Palestinians displaced – which is the highest number of Palestinians displaced in a single day from demolitions due to a lack of building permits since October 2023. Those were just 2 of 76 structures that were demolitions between December 10 – 16,  of which 60 were in the West Bank and 9 were in East Jerusalem.

The demolitions are part of an alarming and still unfolding surge in demolitions targeting Palestinians in East Jerusalem, particularly in sensitive areas where Israel has plans for settler-backed tourism projects that erase Palestinian history and presence in the city. Since January 2024, 17 structures have been demolished (either directly by Israel or by Palestinians who opted to self-demolish and avoid Israeli fees) in the Al-Bustan section of Silwan. 104 Palestinians have been displaced as a result.

Israel is Expanding Settlements in the Golan Heights, As Army Moves to Expand Occupation of Syrian Land 

On December 15th the Israeli government approved a plan to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, an area that Israel occupied in 1967 and illegally annexed in 1981 (its annexation of that territory had been rejected by the international community until the U.S. became the first and only nation to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019). Netanyahu called the settlement expansion plan necessary for Israeli security, saying he aimed to double the Israeli presence there. There are currently ~20,000 Israelis living in 30 settlements in the Golan Heights.

The move to entrench Israeli civilian settlement in the Golan Heights comes against the backdrop of Israel’s incursion deeper into Syrian land – into the so-called Buffer Zone – following the fall of the Assad regime. Syrians who live in the area that has recently come under Israeli control are already voicing fear that Israel is planning to exploit the weak and distracted new regime in order to solidify a long-term occupation of the area. Netanyahu has declared that Israel will occupy the Syrian land for the foreseeable future. A resident now under Israeli occupation told Haaretz:

“We’re used to the fact that in Israel’s view, there is no free withdrawal, so the expansion of its area of control wasn’t done solely for military and security reasons, but mainly to extort the new government in Damascus.”

On X, footage has emerged of Israeli forces opening fire at a group of Syrians gathered to protest Israel’s expanded presence in the Syrian Golan Heights.

Bonus 

1. “Israeli Settlers Set West Bank Mosque on Fire, Spray-paint anti-Arab Statements” (Haaretz)
2. “US won’t sanction Smotrich and Ben Gvir before end of Biden’s term — officials” (The Times of Israel)
3. “DF admits settler group crossed northern border into Lebanon this month” (The Times of Israel)
4. “Meet the far-right settler Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped to be the next Israeli ambassador to the U.S.” (Mondoweiss)
5. “Huckabee addresses settlement-focused One Israel Fund as ‘quirky right-wing’ cause goes ‘mainstream’” (eJewishPhilanthropy)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

December 13, 2024

1. More Demolitions in Silwan Imminent, Threatening Displacement and Replacement
2. Israel Seizes Land Northwest of Jerusalem, Possibly to Expand Settlement
3. Israel Demolishes Structures in “Agreed Upon Reserve” Near Bethlehem
4. Weiss Details Work Towards Gaza Settlements
5. Settlers Move on Plans to Settle South Lebanon & Syria
6. U.S. Senator Intro’s Bill to Compel U.S. Adoption of Settler Terminology “Judea and Samaria”
7. U.S. Democrats Introduce Bill to Codify Biden’s Sanctions on Violent Settlers
8. Bonus Reads

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More Demolitions in Silwan Imminent, Threatening Displacement and Replacement

Ir Amim and Peace Now continue to raise the alarm on the escalation in demolitions targeting Palestinians in Silwan, particularly in the Batan al-Hawa and al-Bustan sections of the neighborhood. In al-Bustan, it is particularly concerning that the Israeli government is rapidly pursuing its plans to displace the entire neighborhood in order to construct the “King’s Garden” tourist site.

Ir Amim explains: 

“The entire neighborhood of Al Bustan, which contains approximately 115 houses and home to over 1500 Palestinians, is under threat of largescale demolition as a result of Israeli plans to establish a tourist and archaeological park in the area. Most of the homes are considered unauthorized by the Israeli authorities due to the inability to obtain building permits and therefore subject to demolition, which is a direct result of discrimination implicit within the Israeli planning system. For years, Al Bustan residents have engaged in negotiations with the Jerusalem Municipality in an attempt to secure an equitable housing solution for the community, which would legalize building and enable proper residential development. Yet, negotiations have recently broke down, and all legal channels have been exhausted, effectively removing all safeguards.”

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The Jerusalem Municipality has begun a systematic campaign to demolish an entire residential neighborhood in East Jerusalem to build a tourist park. This is an injustice that cannot go unnoticed. Instead of caring for the thousands of Jerusalem residents, the municipality is acting against them. The residents of al-Bustan invested years preparing a building plan to legalize their homes, but the municipality has refused to advance any plan. Jerusalem is not a unified city; it is a city of occupation, dispossession and discrimination.”

The demolition plans in Batan al-Hawa are no less cynical, and – like all over East Jerusalem – only one means by which settlers are displacing and  replacing Palestinians. Ateret Cohanim has waged a complementary legal battle to gain ownership rights to homes in Silwan that were owned by Jews prior to 1948 – – though the homes are currently (and in some cases for generations) inhabited by Palestinians. In Batan al-Hawa, Ateret Cohanim recently won rights to the Gheith family home – and with the transfer of ownership imminent the house was burnt down allegedly by Palestinians.

Israel Seizes Land Northwest of Jerusalem, Possibly to Expand Settlement

Middle East Eye reports that Israel has seized control of Palestinian land historically belonging to the villages of Qatanna and Biddu. The land is located on the Israeli side of the separation barrier, which has been cut off from the villages for over two decades (meaning the Israeli state de-facto annexed this land already on the pretext of security). The land (5.5 hectares) was seized as “state land” and it is speculated that it will be allocated to the Har Adar settlement to enable its expansion. 

Israel Demolishes Structures in “Agreed Upon Reserve” Near Bethlehem

On December 12th, Israeli forces demolished seven Palestinian structures on land near Bethlehem that was designated as Area B by the Oslo Accords, meaning the Palestinian Authority is supposed to have full control over the civil administration of the land – including building enforcement laws/regulations. These demolitions follow Israel’s decision in August 2024 to memorialize its formal control over construction enforcement in an area of land designated as an “Agreed Upon Reserve” as delineated by the Wye Agreement in 1998, at which time the Palestinian Authority was granted civilian control, much to the dismay of settlers and their government allies who have been agitating for control over an ever-increasing amount of land in the West Bank in order, at least in part, to demolish Palestinian construction in the area.

Weiss Details Work Towards Gaza Settlements

In a detailed and sourced thread on X, Yehuda Shaul (Founder of Ofek) details recent television program featuring Daniella Weiss, the leader of the Nachala Movement and the effort to establish settlements in Gaza. The program delved into Weiss’s 5-stage plan to establish GAza settlements, claiming to have already raised NIS 15 million for the effort (reportedly from Brazilian sources), some of which has been used to purchase 40 caravans, generators and furniture. 

Nachala is already at work on all points of this plan, particularly what is labelled as phase 3, “establishing a temporary settlement on the Gaza border to serve as a jumping-off point for entering Gaza when the opportunity presents itself.” Shaul further highlights the role that the IDF’s current presence and entrenchment in Gaza play – Weiss plans to coop military infrastructure to sustain long term settlements.

Settlers Move on Plans to Settle South Lebanon & Syria

+972 Magazine reports on the efforts of various (and growing) settler groups to establish outposts in southern Lebanon and, now, south Syria as the Israeli military occupies these lands.

Last week, settlers succeeded in crossing into Southern Lebanon and erecting a few tents in an attempt to stay there. The IDF removed settlers rather quickly,, but that did not dash the hopes and plans of settlers to establish a long term presence there.

Amos Azaria, who founded the  Uri Tsafon organization aimed at settling southern Lebanon, told +972 Magazine:

““The first time we’re evicted, we go…The second time, we stay longer. The [third] time, we stay the night. That’s how we’ll continue until there is a settlement. At first, [the army] demolishes it, and then they reach an agreement that there will be one settlement, and that’s it. In the meantime, we start working on the next settlement. It may not be realistic that the state will build a settlement [of its own accord], but that doesn’t mean the state has to demolish a community that we built. “

Earlier this year Uri Tsfon hosted a conference dedicated to planning the settlement of Lebanon, and in October it published flyers advertising homes for sale across the Israeli border, in sovereign Lebanese territory

On the Uri Tsafon Facebook page many people posted messages expressing urgency in settling territory in Syria. The Nachala Movement, headed by Daniella Weiss, even posted: 

“Whoever still thinks it’s possible to leave our fate in the hands of a foreign actor — forsakes Israel’s security! Jewish settlement is the only thing that will bring about regional stability and security for the State of Israel, along with a stable economy, national resilience, and deterrence. In Gaza, in Lebanon, in the entire Golan Heights including the ‘Syrian Plateau,’ and in the entire Mount Hermon.”

U.S. Senator Intro’s Bill to Compel U.S. Adoption of Settler Terminology “Judea and Samaria”

FMEP’s Lara Friedman reports that Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill to “prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘West Bank’, and for other purposes.” If passed into law, the bill would remove all references to “West Bank” from U.S. government documents, replacing them with the biblical name used by Israeli settlers. This bill mirrors a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2024. The House bill has made no progress and gained no new co-sponsors.

Friedman further explains:

“Notably, while both the Cotton bill and HR 7552 explicitly seek to compel the use of the terms “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the entire West Bank, the bills’ text specifies that it is referring to land “annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War.” Which suggests either (a) very sloppy drafting on the part of whomever wrote the bill, (b) that Cotton and Tenney intend the word “annex” in a sense other than the legal one (since as of this writing Israel has not moved to formally annex any of the West Bank other than East Jerusalem and its West Bank environs; or (c) that the drafters of this bill are intentionally seeking to have the US formally recognize West Bank annexation by Israel in advance of – and in fact, irrespective of – a formal declaration of annexation by Israel.”

U.S. Democrats Introduce Bill to Codify Biden’s Sanctions on Violent Settlers

FMEP’s Lara Friedman reports that on December 10th a group of Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representative  introduced companion legislation that would “codify Executive Order 14115 imposing certain sanctions on persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” Over the past year the Biden Administration has issued a total of 33 sanctions targeting individuals and entities alleged to have participated in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Since the election of Donald Trump (who takes office on January 20, 2025), settlers have prioritized lobbying for the repeal of Biden’s sanctions.

Bonus Reads

1. “Intensification of Surveillance in East Jerusalem Since October 2023.” (7amleh)
2. “West Bank Monthly Snapshot – Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement | November 2024” (OCHA OPT)
3. “Katz orders IDF to prepare for Judea and Samaria escalation” (JNS)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

December 5, 2024

1. 1. End of Year Rush: High Planning Council Set to Meet Twice to Advance Settlement Plans
   2. Settlers Violently Storm Palestinian Towns After Outpost Evacuation
   3. Israel Gives Settler Power Over Palestinian Property in East Jerusalem
   4. Settlement Construction Group is Working in North Gaza, As Israeli Govt Officials Meet with Gaza Settlement Activists
   5. Emek Shaveh Challenges Military Construction at Sebastia Site
   6. Recapping Knesset Debate on Annexation via Archaeology
   7. Settlers Set Operational Plan for Trump Administration
   8. Don’t Miss: New Reports from B’Tselem & Yesh Din

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End of Year Rush: High Planning Council Set to Meet Twice to Advance Settlement Plans

Peace Now reports that the Civil Administration’s High Planning Council met on Nov. 4th and is scheduled to meet again on Nov. 11th to consider advancing plans for a total of 501 new settlement units. In total, Peace Now reports that Israel has advanced plans for a total of 8,720 new settlement units in the West Bank in 2024.

The following plans for a total of 274 units were listed on the agenda for November 4th, with all slated to be deposited for public review (a latter stage of the planning process):

• 83 new units in Elon Moreh settlement, located east of Nablus (for background on the significance of the Elon Moreh settlement, please see here);
• 79 new units in the Mitzpe Yishai settlement; and,
• 112 new units in the Ma’ale Amos settlement, located between Bethlehem and Hebron.

The Committee is set to meet again on November 11th with the following plans for a total of 227 new settlement units on the agenda:

• 196 units in the Telem settlement – ready for final approval. The Telem settlement is located north of Hebron;
• 21 units in the Eli settlement – ready for deposit. The Eli settlement is located southeast of the Ariel settlement in the central West Bank. Though the Eli settlement previously received Israeli government approval, a “Master Plan” – which officially zones land for distinct purposes (residential, commercial, public) –  has never been issued for Eli, meaning all construction there is illegal under Israeli law; and,
• 10 units in the Givat Ze’ev settlement – ready for final approval. Givat Zeev is located south of Ramallah in an area that is on the Israeli side of the barrier.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The Israeli government is expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of its broader plan to entrench Israeli control over the territories, thereby harming any chances for a political solution. After more than a year of war, Israelis and Palestinians do not need more settlement expansion but rather hope for peace and a future free from the horrors of war and occupation.”

Settlers Violently Storm Palestinian Towns After Outpost Evacuation

In the early morning hours of December 4th, dozens of settlers marauded two Palestinian cities near Nablus, and were stopped by the IDF from raiding a third. While storming through Huawara and Beit Furik, settlers threw Molotov cocktails setting at least one home and two cars on fire, and violently attacking at least one person with stones and sticks, fracturing his skull. Israeli police said that eight people have been arrested.

The attackers reportedly came from the Yitzhar settlement, and was launched as a response to the IDF’s removal of settlers from a nearby outpost called Hill 617. 

In an Editorial entitled, “Israel’s Government Instigates Settler Pogroms Against Palestinians,” the Haaretz Editorial Board writes:

“When Defense Minister Israel Katz announced when he took office that would stop the use of administrative detention orders against settlers, the lawbreakers in the occupied territories immediately understood they had been given a green light to run amok. The spirit of the new commander is that there is no commander, that the extremist settlers are above the law, that the military, the Shin Bet security service and the police must obey them, that the blood of the Palestinians can be shed and that their land and assets are there for the taking. Aware of Katz’s new policy, on Wednesday, dozens of settlers threw Molotov cocktails and set fire to homes and vehicles in the towns of Beit Furik and Hawara, near Nablus.”

Beit Furik has been a repeated target of settler attacks, including a major incursion last month.

Israel Gives Settler Power Over Palestinian Property in East Jerusalem

The Israeli government has appointed Hananel Gurfinkel as the head of a newly established position of Adminstrator General of the Custodian of Absentee Property Division in the Finance Ministry. This role holds the important and powerful task for managing absentee property owned by Palestinians in East Jerusalem. 

Gurfinkel lives in the Nof Zion settlement enclave in East Jerusalem, and is the founder of an organization (Boneh Yerushalayim) dedicated to building settlements in East Jerusalem.

For the past ten years, Gurfinkel has worked in the Justice Ministry’s Custodian General’s office, where he managed Jewish-owned absentee property. In that role, Haaretz reports Gurfinkel:

“used his position to aid settler organizations seeking to control Palestinian-owned properties and promote new settlement projects in the city. He facilitated the sale of land in the Silwan area to the pro-settler group Ateret Cohanim, and hired attorneys affiliated with the group and other right-wing organizations to represent the state in eviction cases targeting Palestinian families. Gurfinkel also actively supported right-wing efforts to expand Jewish settlement and reshape the demographic landscape of East Jerusalem.

Before Gurfinkel took his post, the Custodian General’s Office rarely initiated construction plans for properties under its authority. His tenure, however, marked a significant shift, culminating in a collaboration between the Justice Ministry, Ateret Cohanim and a right-wing-managed real estate company, to advance plans for three new Jewish settlements near Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

Hundreds of homes for Jews are set to be built in each of these new neighborhoods, adjacent to or even inside Palestinian communities.

The construction plans include the neighborhoods of Givat Shaked near the Palestinian Arab neighborhood of Sharafat, Kdmat Zion near Ras al-Amud and another neighborhood between the Palestinian villages of Umm Lison and Jabal Mukkaber…

According to Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, Gurfinkel has been enthusiastic about evicting them.”

Settlement Construction Group is Working in North Gaza, As Israeli Govt Officials Meet with Gaza Settlement Activists

Drop Site news reports that Israel has contracted with private companies specializing in settlement construction to work in northern Gaza. It is reported to be the first confirmation that Israel has hired private contractors to conduct demolitions and construction work in northern Gaza (previously documented in Rafah) – an arrangement which brings Israeli civilians to an area outside of Israel’s internationally recognized borders.

One of the confirmed private construction companies working in northern Gaza, Libi Constriction and Infrastructure Ltd., is owned by settlers and participates widely in settlement construction, including reportedly the Adei Ad outpost, the Itamar settlement, the Revava outpost. The company’s founder (Harel Libi) has a documented criminal history of illegal construction in the West Bank and has been subjected to a removal order in 2012 after participating in violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.For more details on Harel Libi and his construction company, read Drop Site’s reporting.

As Israel’s actions in Gaza continue to come under increased scrutiny (with Amnesty International recognizing it as genocide this week), Israeli government officials and actions on the ground point to a long term Israeli presence. The New York Times documents how the  Israeli military has entrenched its presence in Netzarim Corridor – which has been cleared of any signs of life prior to the military’s arrival. Satellite images show at least 19 large IDF bases, 12 of which have been built or expanded since September. There are also dozens of small bases in the area. Israel’s Minister of for Food Security Avi Dichter – who also services on the Isreali Security Cabinet – said at a press conference this week:

“I think most people understand that [Israel] will be [for] years in some kind of West Bank situation where you go in and out and maybe you remain along Netzarim [corridor].”

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently advocated for the Palestinian population in Gaza to be “thinned” by half within two years.

Meanwhile, Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf was photographed on the Gaza border meeting with prominent settlement activists Daniella Weiss, who was seen showing Goldknopf a map of Gaza showing where she plans to establish Israeli settlements. 

Goldknopf stated;

“Jewish settlement here is the answer to the terrible massacre and the answer to the international court in The Hague which, instead of caring about the 101 hostages, chose to issue warrants against the Prime Minister and (former) Defense Minister.”

Appearing on Israeli TV last week, Weiss said:

“The moment that entry is possible, we enter,” she said. “We don’t wait for water supply infrastructure, generators or any other preparations. If 300 people enter at once, evacuating them would require 1,000 soldiers.”

Emek Shaveh Challenges Development of Sebastia

In November 2024, Emek Shaveh joined Palestinian landowners and the Sebastia municipality to file a petition against the construction of a military facility g at the summit of the Sebastia archaeological site. The petition complains that the plans violate private property rights and that the Isareli Staff Officer for Archaeology in the Civil Administration did not submit an opinion regarding the potential impact of a military facility on the ancient site.

The plans for construction were disclosed only months after the Israeli army issued a military order seizing the plot of land, and a year after the Israeli government passed a $9 million (NIS 32 million)  plan designed to impose Israeli control over the site both logistically and in the narrative about the site’s history.  E

Settlers have been openly agitating for Israel to assert control over the archaeological site in Sebastia for years, and the settler Samaria Regional Council organizes regular tours to the site. To secure the settlers’ visits, the IDF shuts down the town of Sebastia, closing Palestinian streets and businesses. 

As in other cases across the West Bank, settlers allege that Palestinians are damaging the Sebastia site and that the Israeli government needs to intervene. In 2021 amidst  intensifying settler efforts related to the site, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on UNESCO to “protect all Palestinian archaeological and religious sites from Israeli violations, attacks and falsifications.” The archaeological site of Sebastia is on the tentative list of World Heritage sites in Palestine.

Recapping Knesset Debate on Annexation via Archaeology

On November 27th, the Knesset’s Education, Culture, and Sports Committee discussed a proposed bill to expand the Israel Antiquities Authority’s jurisdiction into the West Bank, effectively annexing West Bank antiquity sites to Israeli control. This bill is being prepared for a first reading soon.

The discussion, as summarized by Emek Shaveh, included the strong objections to the bill from the Israeli archaeological community, which stressed the move would be tantamount to annexation and have repercussions for Israel. The Committee’s own legal advisor said that the bill is “incompatible with the region’s laws.”

Emek Shaven Director Alon Arad said:

“Advancing this legislative proposal amounts to the annexation of parts of the West Bank and is contrary to international law and agreements to which the State of Israel is a signatory. This is a bad and dangerous legislative proposal that reflects an extreme and messianic Jewish supremacist ideology. It is being promoted against the opinions of professionals and will inevitably harm the State of Israel, its foreign relations, its political horizon, and put its academic community at risk while hollowing out the field [of archaeology] and turning it into nothing more than a political tool.”

Settlers Set Operational Plan for Trump Administration 

At the end of November, the settler Yesha Council convened a high-level meeting in Jerusalem to develop a “operational strategy” to implement the expansion of settlements and annexation of the West Bank during the Trump Administration. 

The meeting reportedly proposed a plan that would establish 3-4 new settlements and expand the jurisdiction of regional councils over all of the West Bank land, including Palestinian areas (current jurisdictions only include settler populations). In tandem, the group proposes removing he Palestinian Authority from a position of any control and hinting at dismantling it altogether. Israel Hayom reports that MK Boaron explains:

“Instead [of the PA], the Arab population in the West Bank would be under self-governing municipal authorities. These would receive and pay for services from Israel, with residents holding status similar to Jerusalem’s Arab residents. Their national orientation would mirror the pre-1967 arrangement under Jordanian administration.””

MK Boaron also called for transforming the Jordan Valley into a “power generation huib” by building many power stations there. Plans for the two new power stations were recently announced by Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen.

Likud MK  Avihai Boaron, who attended the meeting, said: 

“We are at a critical juncture – a window of opportunity that we can utilize either wisely or squander. Taking the foolish path would merely result in 700,000 residents and additional housing units four years from now. The wise approach would establish conditions to make Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley inseparable from Israel – not just by creating demographic facts on the ground, but by fundamentally transforming the region’s administrative framework.”

Don’t Miss: New Reports from B’Tselem & Yesh Din

On December 3rd, B’Tselem released a new report on the escalation of brutal policing of Palestinians in Hebron, including patterns of arbitrary arrests, severe beatings and zero accountability. The report presents over 20 testimonies collected between May and August 2024. Victims describe being randomly seized by soldiers, mostly as they were walking down the streets of the city, going about their daily affairs. They were beaten and subjected to severe abuse by soldiers, sometimes in the street, and at other times inside military outposts where they were taken. 

In November, Yesh Din released a report documenting at the Abu Awwad family’s case and the severe (and insane) movement restrictions facing the family in the village of Turmusaya in the central West Bank. The family’s sole access to their residential compound, located on the outskirts of the town, was blocked by an earth mound of dirt and stones placed by soldiers and settlers in October 2023. This was only the start of a year of increasing imposition of restrictions imposed on the family by Israeli soldiers. Yesh Din has accompanied the family in filing a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice to have the earth mound removed.

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 16, 2024

1. New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz
2. New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land
3. Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction
4. Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited
5. Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem
6. Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit
7. Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement
8. IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost
9. Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary
10. Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions
11. Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption
12. Bonus Reads

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New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz

On August 14th the Israeli Civil Administration’s Blue Line Team released an updated map delineating more state land in the area of the Palestinian village of Battir, land on which the government is advancing plans to build a new settlement, called Nahal Heletz. This move is tantamount to issuing a new declaration of “state land,” though the Israeli government views it as a correction and/or update to previous maps. If built, Nahal Heletz would be the first new settlement the Israeli government has planned since 2017, when the Amichai settlement was established. 

Speaking after the declaration, Smotrich said:

“No anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism will stop the continued development of the settlements. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state, and establish facts on the ground. This is my life’s mission and God willing I will continue with it as much as I can.”

The updated map of the Blue Line changes the status of an irregularly shaped area of 602.7 dunams to “state land”, allowing the settlement to be planned there – a slice of land much larger than what had previously been planned for the new settlement. Palestinians – whose access to their own privately owned land near the area of the settlement will be restricted – have 45 days to submit an appeal against the designation. Peace Now notes that the shape of the new line:

 “rais[es] questions about how it is possible to construct a settlement in such a fragmented and irregularly shaped area. Based on the settlers’ past experience, it is highly likely that parts of the land outside the blue line will be incorporated into the settlement, and Palestinians will be denied access to their land. As seen in the map, extraordinary efforts have been made to create a blue line for the intended settlement…The pace of declarations of blue line boundaries and state land is unprecedented. Just last week (7.8.24), 116 dunams were declared as state land in the Migdal Oz settlement. The numerous declarations of state land and blue line boundaries for settlements are a result of the government’s policy to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and to legitimize the settlement enterprise.”

Recall that a month ago the Israeli government established a jurisdiction for the new settlement before the status of the land was clear. The Israeli Blue Line Team (a government effort to precisely map the boundaries of state land in the West Bank) said at the time that it had updated its maps of state land boundaries in the area, but those maps were note released until August 14th, and – to no one’s surprise – discovered the boundaries of state land in the area to include more area than previously declared, allowing for the settlement to be established.

Battir is a Palestinian village known for its ancient terraced hills, which are recorded as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Notably, the new settlement does not include the land on which two illegal outposts already exist on Battir’s land. The new settlement is being planned for land that is between Bethlehem and several villages to its west (Walaja, Battir, and Husan) –  meaning that construction on this land will sever the territorial continuity of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem region, and, in the words of Peace Now: “turn them [the villages] into an enclave within Israeli territory.”

Palestinian journalist and commentator Nour Odeh told Al Jazeera:

“[Smotrich] is flexing his muscles, telling the world that he cares very, very little about international law…[the settlement] devours what’s left of [Palestinian] land in the Bethlehem area, which has shrunk to nearly 10 percent of its original size…[it is located] not just in any UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also in … the only place left for agriculture, for picnics, planning and building”.

New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land

On August 7th, the Israeli Civil Administration published a new map which expands the amount of land in the area of the Migdal Oz settlement by 116.2 dunmans. According to Israeli press, the government is preparing plans for the construction of 500 new settlement units on this land.

Migdal Oz is located between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank, in an area where the Israel separation barrier cuts deeply into the West Bank so much so that the Migdal Oz, and Efrat settlements are on the Israeli side of the barrier (de facto annexed into Israeli proper.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“The Israeli government continues to legitimize the injustice and original sin of the settlement enterprise. Instead of evacuating settlements established through military seizure orders, which have taken hundreds of dunams from the Palestinian residents of Beit Ummar, the government perpetuates this injustice with regulations and laws that deepen the hostility between Israelis and Palestinians. This is a messianic government focused solely on annexation and the perpetuation of the  war & occupation, with no regard for the security of either Israelis or Palestinians.”

Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Ministry of Housing issued a tender for the construction of 110 new settlement units in the Alon Shvut settlement. The Alon Shvut settlement, located just north of the Kfar Etzion settlement and between Bethlehem and Hebron. The Alon Shvut settlement was last expanded in 2019, when the Israeli government created a new outpost near the settlement in order to “temporarily” house settlers who had been forcibly evacuated from the Netiv Ha’avot outpost. The government then added the area on which the settlers were relocated to the jurisdiction of Alon Shvut.

Peace Now notes that this is the second tender published for West Bank construction in 2024.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This new tender adds to the additional construction that the Israeli government has been advancing across the West Bank since the beginning of the year. So far, the government has promoted over 8,700 units in the planning council, and with this new tender, the total number of housing units put up for tender stands at 630. Instead of focusing on areas like the north or the south that are in need of development and investment, the Israeli government chooses to promote housing units in occupied territories that do not belong to it.”

Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited

Ir Amim reports that on August 4th the Jerusalem District PLanning Committed formally deposited for public review a plan to massively expand the Givat Hamatos settlement along the Hebron Road. The plan calls for 3,5000 new settlement units and 1,300 hotel rooms to be built on the eastern slopes of the Givat Hamatos settlement – construction which would double the number of housing units in the Givat Hamatos settlement and increase its land mass by 40%. Further, the new settlement will be built on a strategic strip of land that will expand the area of Givat Hamatos eastward, connecting it with another new settlement plan – the “Lower Aqueduct Plan.” These plans ultimately create a string of settlements — spanning from Gilo to Givat Hamatos to Har Homa — that, together with the planned “Givat HaShaked” settlement to its north, completely encircle the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa with Israeli settlement construction. 

Previous iterations of this plan included the Greek Patriarchate as a co-developer, but the newly deposited plans do not include mention of the Church anywhere. The Church has said in the past that part of the development is intended for use by the city’s Christian community, though previous reports indicate that the plan calls for five synagogues and two mikvehs, clearly showing that the construction is designed to serve Israeli Jews.

Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem

On August 14th, the settler organization Elad celebrated the opening of one of its many touristic settlements in Jerusalem, this one a zipline in the Jerusalem’s Peace Forest. The zipline travels over the heads of Palestinian houses in the Jabal al Mukhaber neighborhood (see pictures). The zipline connects the “Peace Forest” in the Abu Tor neighborhood to another popular tourism site, the Armon Hanatziv promenade. 

As part of this project, Elad also established a new tourism center in the Peace Forest, a project that was paid for by the Israeli Ministry of Housing, to the tune of 43 million NIS ($12.38 million USD). The House – which the settlers have named “Beit Shatz” – was purchased by Elad as part of Elad’s broader efforts to use tourist projects as a means for taking control over the area, which is situated in a national park.

The behavior of Elad and the Israeli government in the Peace Forest underscores the the systematic discrimination in planning policies and enforcement facing Palestinians in Jerusalem. The several Palestinian families living in the “Peace Forest” and are prohibited from building or expanding/renovating their homes because of the strict building prohibitions for national parks.  Elad managed to circumvent those same restrictions by pushing the Jerusalem Municipality to request that the area they are targeting be designated as an “open public space,” which would allow the project to advance. In December 2019, Jerusalem planning authorities granted the settler-backed request. That same month, Israel pursued demolition orders against Palestinian homes in the Peace Forest that lacked building permits, despite the fact that in some cases Palestinians have repeatedly applied for and been denied permits. 

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The zip line project is one of many initiatives by the Elad organization in Jerusalem, where, in every case, the municipality and/or government bodies were involved in transferring responsibility for the sites to the foundation. For example, the archaeological site of the City of David has been operated by the Elad organization for decades, the Israeli government is constructing a cable car to the Elad organization’s tourism complex in the City of David, a camping site at the edge of the Peace Forest was developed with three million shekels of state funds, and the Hinnom Valley was handed over for agro-tourism development under Elad’s responsibility

These projects, along with the latest zip line initiative, represent a tourism activity intertwined with political interests, aimed at allowing the foundation to become a powerhouse in Jerusalem’s tourism sector. Elad seeks to control and manage numerous sites, both in terms of the content delivered to the public and the shaping of the space. Elad’s tourism activities can be seen as a form of “touristic settlement,” designed to make the area as “Jewish-Israeli” as possible and to complicate any future compromise agreement in Jerusalem, where two capitals for two states are envisioned.”

Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann commented on X: 

“Gleeful teenagers will screech as the race above the iconic views of the Mt. of Olives, the Old City and al Aqsa included in the ticket. This is the crass Disneyfication of historic Jerusalem, and it’s not the first.  A cable car is under construction leading from West Jerusalem to the settler headquarters in Silwan, a mere 179 meters away from Al Aqsa mosque.”

Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit

On August 15th, ~100 Israeli settlers from the X settlement launched a violent attack on the Palestinian village of Jit, located near Nablus in the northern West Bank. One Palestinian was killed by settler gunfire and many more were injured. Video of the pogrom show widespread damage to property as a result of settlers setting vehicles and homes on fire. The IDF arrived about an hour into the ordeal, and removed settlers from the town, but made only one arrest.  The IDF later said it has opened an investigation into the incident.

Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement

Ir Amim continues to raise alarm regarding the imminent mass displacement of Palestinians from their longtime homes in the al-Bustan section of Silwan, in East Jerusalem. 

The threat turned into reality for the Shehadeh family, whose home was taken over by settlers on August 15th with the assistance of Israeli police. Ir Amim says the Shehadeh family, “lost their home to an organization intent on displacing their entire community, all with the help of a legal system that imparts anything but justice” This is the 15th Palestinian family dispossessed by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization, with another 80+ families facing the same threat. Ateret Cohanim, in coordination with the state, has capitalized on Israel’s discriminatory laws which allow Jews to “reclaim” houses that they owned prior to 1948 (Palestinians have no such parallel right).

On August 5th, Israeli authorities demolished another home in Al-Bustan, where eight more homes face the same demolition threat.

Ir Amim writes:

“All legal remedies have been exhausted. As a result, over 20 more Palestinians stand to be displaced. Several additional homes could likewise be under impending threat. The increased risk of mass demolition in Al Bustan follows the demolition of the home of community leader and well-known activist, Fakhri Abu Diab, in February, which profoundly impacted the community and triggered extreme alarm among its residents. It is assumed that Abu Diab was deliberately targeted due to his work to secure a housing solution for the community and a cruel way for the authorities to instill fear in the rest of the neighborhood.

Demolitions of Palestinian homes have reached unparalleled levels since the outbreak of the war. Such practices constitute a form of collective punishment, retaliatory state violence, and part of a series of repressive measures currently being employed by Israel against Palestinians under its control. Since October 7, 160 homes have been destroyed in East Jerusalem alone, marking a two-fold monthly increase in demolitions compared to the period preceding the war. Between January 1-August 8, 2024, 113 homes have been demolished, representing a 75% increase compared to the same period last year.

The numbers are only liable to accelerate in light of the planned changes in the government ministry which presides over the National Enforcement Unit–one of the units responsible for carrying out demolitions in East Jerusalem. On July 24, the Knesset approved the transfer of the National Enforcement Unit from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of National Security, placing it under the direct authority of ultranationalist and far-right Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The transfer of the unit was included in coalition agreements during the formation of the government last year. Over the past year and half, Ben Gvir has made numerous statements calling for the intensification of demolitions of Palestinian homes. Such a move is cause for extreme alarm and will directly impact areas of East Jerusalem.”

To read more about the multitudes of threats facing Palestinians in al-Bustan, see Ir Amim’s reporting.

IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost

On August 6t the IDF dismantled 15 temporary buildings that compromised a new and expanded section of the illegal Giv’at Oz Zion outpost, which settlers built on privately owned Palestinian land north of Ramallah. The outpost, according to the Shin Bet, has been the source of violent terror. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who oversees building enforcement in the West Bank) both approved this demolition at the request of the IDF Commander.

Just over a month ago the IDF clashed with settlers at the Oz Zion outpost when forces arrived to demolish the new section. The July demolition was reportedly ok’d by Prime Minister Netanyahu – going over the head of Bezalel Smotrich and the Settlement Administration, which has seized control of building enforcement in the West Bank. 

Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary

On August 12th, ~300 Israeli settlers held a protest near the Gaza barrier, continuing to promote their call to resettle the Gaza strip.  Specifically, the event was to be held near the entrance to the so-called Netzarim Corridor, a road and control zone that IDF cut into Gaza to severing the north and the south – destroying everything in its path and near it. In anticipation of the rally, the IDF expanded the closed zone around the Gaza barrier. The IDF told The Times of ISrael that it feared the event would be attacked by Palestinians, though Haaretz reports that the IDF anticipated the protestors trying to enter Gaza as they have done at previous protests. During the event itself the IDF escorted 100 protestors to the ANZAC memorial site close to the Netzarim junction.

One of the protestors told Haaretz:

“We requested entry to Netzarim Junction because it is a symbolic location with available land for settlement, a fitting Zionist response to our enemies,” she said. “We have over 600 families ready to move here. We can’t wait for the war to end, and it will also significantly support the war effort.”

The protest, organized in part by the Nahala settler group, was held on the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av (which commemorating the dates on which two ancient temples in Jerusalem were destroyed) and featured prayer and a traditional reading of scripture. 

Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions

The Israeli settler group Regavim “assembled a team of lawyers” (according to its newsletter) and filed a petition challenging sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration on Israeli settlers. The Christian Zionist group “Texas for Israel” filed the petition with the District Court of Northern Texas, arguing that the sanctions violate the rights of Americans because it prohibits citizens from providing financial support to designated individuals and entities, which the complainants say constitutes a violation of the rights to free speech and religion.

There is a growing international sanction regime targeting individual settlers and increasingly connected entities that are alleged to have participated in acts of violence in the West Bank. In July, reports began circulating that the European Union was/is considering sanctions against Regavim specifically. Fearing  sanctions, settlers and their allies in the government have mobilized a concerted effort to push back against the continued escalation of those sanctions – which to date have not touched Israeli government officials or major settler organizations other than Amana (which was sanctioned by the Canadian government only).

Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption

In addition to being the first state to issue sanctions on the Amana settler organization, Canada has also become the first state to revoke the tax exempt status of organizations – in this case the very prominent Canadian arm of the Jewish National Fund and the Ne’eman Foundation – because of its illegal activities in the West Bank. Haaretz reports that the revokation was prompted by complaints submitted to the government by Palestinian rights groups, alleging that the organizations finance illegal settlement construction.

Bonus Reads

1. “New Settlement, expanding outposts, represent wholesale attack on World Heritage Site of Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir” (Joint alert by Peace Now, Combatants for Peace, Emek Shaveh)
2. “While We Were at War: The Government’s Annexation Revolution in the West Bank Since October 7th” (Peace Now)
3. “Israel is redrawing the West Bank, cutting into a prospective Palestinian state” (Washington Post)
4. “Israel’s Top Court: IDF Must Protect Palestinians From West Bank Settlers, Even During War” (Haaretz)
5. “US leads international condemnations of Ben Gvir’s ‘provocations’ at Temple Mount” (The Times of Israel)
6. “What if the U.S. Doesn’t Veto Sanctions Against Israel? ‘It’s the End of the World,’ Says Legal Expert” (Haaretz)
7. “Which countries have sanctioned Israeli settlers – and does it mean much?” (Al-Jazeera)
8. “US to continue aid to Israeli military unit involved in Palestinian American’s death” (Middle East Eye)
9. “IDF says US activist shot by troops accidentally at West Bank anti-settlement rally” (The Times of Israel)
10. “Is the wall around the West Bank for protection or separation?” (Israel Hayom)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 19, 2024

1. Historic ICJ Advisory Opinion Says Israel’s Occupation is Illegal, Calls for Settlements to be Dismantled
2. Israel Grants Itself Civilian Control of An Additional 3% of West Bank Land
3. Settlers Enter Abu Nab House in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan As Shehadeh Family Faces 20-Day Eviction Notice
4. Palestinians Blast IDF Closure of Courtyard in Ibrahimi Mosque Complex
5. New Outpost Established East of Ramallah
6. European Union Issues New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Orgs, and Outposts
7. U.S. Sanctions Two More Individuals, Including First Military Target
8. Further Reading on Silwan, Masafer Yatta & More
9. Bonus Reads

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Historic ICJ Advisory Opinion Says Israel’s Occupation is Illegal, Calls for Settlements to be Dismantled

In an advisory opinion issued on July 19th, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank  is illegal, and its policies constitute apartheid. The Court said that Israel should immediately end its occupation, make restitution to those damaged by it, including dismantling settlements, evacuating all settlers, and dismantling parts of the Separation Barrier that fall east of the 1967 Green Line. It also calls for the return of all Palestinians who were displaced from their homes as a result of Israel’s occupation.

In delivering the Court’s findings, ICJ President Nawaf Salam said: 

“The sustained abuse of Israel of its position as an occupying power through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.”

Further, the Court – which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations – calls on all States “not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” This includes banning trade and investments that touch Israel’s settlements. Though the advisory opinion is non-binding, the Court’s rulings hold legal and moral authority.

The Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq issued a detailed explainer in advance of the opinion’s release, which is a good resource for understanding the legal questions the Court was considering. Following the publication of the opinion, Al-Haq posted on X:

“This is a first step towards rectifying the generational harm of Israel’s illegal occupation, ongoing Nakba, settler-colonialism and apartheid to the Palestinian people, which must be ended, and all Israeli discriminatory measures and legislation repealed. Set against a backdrop of aggressive settlement expansion, increased settler attacks & the GazaGenocide the Advisory Opinion is a stark reminder to States and corporations alike of the need to take concrete action against Israel’s crimes and end Israeli presence in Palestine.”

Even in advance of the release of the ICJ’s advisory opinion, Israeli government officials were bracing for its findings. Smotrich even called on Netanyahu to annex the West Bank in retaliation, a demand he reiterated after the opinion was published.

Israel Grants Itself Civilian Control of An Additional 3% of West Bank Land

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Commander of the Central Command has signed two new orders granting the Israeli government vast planning authorities an additional 3% or 41,300 acres (167,000 dunams) of the West Bank, in the areas to the east of and between Bethlehem and Hebron. Previously, these lands were under the (theoretical) civilian control of the Palestinian Authority (areas A & B according to the Oslo Accords), much to the dismay of settlers and their government allies who have been agitating for control over an ever-increasing amount of land in the West Bank in order, at least in part, to demolish Palestinian construction in the area.

The first order granted Israeli authority to operate in these areas, and the second order made construction in the areas illegal – establishing guidelines for Israeli authorities to demolish any/all Palestinian buildings if they were built after 1998 (the Wye Agreement). Importantly, Bezalel Smotrich and his allies hold authority within the Civil Administration to pursue and enforce demolitions.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“There is no end to the desire for control and annexation by the settler government. The Israeli government is taking upon itself authorities that Netanyahu himself transferred to the Palestinians under the Wye Agreement in 1998. There is no Israeli interest in demolishing Palestinian homes in Area B, which will only harm Israel’s security and international standing, but it solely serves the interests of messianic settlers. It should be noted that the “Agreed-Upon Reserve” is not a genuine nature reserve. It is an Israeli invention born out of the Wye Agreement, where Netanyahu sought to prevent the implementation of agreements signed with the Palestinians and to avoid transferring authority to them in these territories. Therefore, they were defined as “reserves” so that the territories would be transferred to Palestinians but with a prohibition on Palestinian construction. However, they do not constitute an actual reserve.”

Settlers Enter Abu Nab House in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan As Shehadeh Family Faces 20-Day Eviction Notice

Peace Now reports that on July 16th settlers entered the home owned by the Palestinian Abu-Nab family in Silwan and immediately began construction work inside. Last week the Jerusalem District Court ruled in favor of the settlers claim to home and ordered the immediate dispossession of the Abu Nab family. Settlers acted fast to take possession of the home while the family was not home, even as the Abu Nab family lawyer prepared an appeal against the ruling.

On the same day that settlers entered the Abu Nab family home, the Shehadeh family (who lives next door to the Abu-Nabs) received an eviction notice giving them 20 days to leave their home or face forcible eviction.  The Shehadeh family has already been denied an appeal by the Israeli Supreme Court.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This is a real alarm. If the government does not intervene and if pressure is not applied on it to intervene, we may see Israeli police forcibly evicting Palestinian families from their homes in Silwan in the coming weeks, and settlers moving in instead. This is a terrible injustice based on discriminatory laws and the exploitation of the vulnerability of East Jerusalem residents, who are not equal citizens living under occupation in Jerusalem. This is part of a larger scheme to expel an entire Palestinian community to make way for settlements in East Jerusalem, and this crime must be stopped. Now.”

Palestinians Blast IDF Closure of Courtyard in Ibrahimi Mosque Complex

The Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality condemned the closure of a courtyard outside of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. The director of the Hebron Endowments, Ghassan Al-Rajabi, on July 11th Israeli troops used sheet metal to close off the courtyard area. Rajabi called it, “a blatant assault against the sanctity and status of the Mosque.”

The Hebron Municipality issued a statement saying:

 “This assault comes as part of the statistical projects that seek to consecrate the honorable Abrahamic Shrine and its surroundings, and impose complete control over it by erecting tracks and an electric elevator earlier to facilitate the settlers’ access to the shrine, which will cause its historical and religious landmarks to be distorted and changed and violated the religious and cultural rights of the original owners of the land And the ability to exercise and access their religious rights freely and safely. Know that the occupation authorities had this plan for years and it has been objected and objected by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, the owner of the legal, legal and administrative state on the shrine.”

New Outpost Established East of Ramallah

Palestinian sources report that settlers established a new outpost east of Ramallah on July 15th. 

Hassan Mleihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization said at a press conference: 

“A group of extremist settlers set up tents and placed barbed wire over land belonging to the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah…This area has seen rising conflicts between illegal settlers and Palestinians over land, and the new outpost is part of the occupation government’s plans to seize more land for settlement expansion.”

European Union Issues New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Orgs, and Outposts

On July 15th the European Union on Monday sanctioned five Israeli settlers, two outposts and one settler organization group that it deemed are “responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.” the European Council, the E.U. body that represents the heads of the member governments, said in a statement. 

These sanctions duplicated some of the sanctions the U.S. has imposed already. 

Israeli press reports that several additional countries – including the U.K. under new leadership – have warned Israeli officials that more sanctions should be expected should Smotrich continue his settlement and annexation activities. Haaretz reports that Israeli officials are concerned sanctions will be placed on the major settler groups Amana and Regavim.

U.S. Sanctions Two More Individuals, Including First Military Target

The United States made two announcements of new sanctions this week. First on July 17th the U.S. said it had designated Shlomo Yehezkel Hai Sarid, who is the head of the previously-sanctioned Tsav 9 settler organization. Then on July 18th the U.S. announced that it had sanctioned Elor Azaria, who is a former IDF sergeant who was filmed executing a wounded Palestinian in 2016. Azaria was convicted by an Israeli court and served only 18 months in prison. 

So far, the U.S. has placed sanctions on 11 settlers and 11 settler entities who have perpetrated violence and disorder in the West Bank. Azaria is unique among the designated individuals in that he was sanctioned for his actions while serving in the Israeli IDF some eight years ago, not for his active participation in settler terrorism.

Further Reading on Silwan, Masafer Yatta & More

Following FMEP’s publication of the Settlement Report last eek, several new must-read resources have been published regarding stories that FMEP closely follows.

On the pending mass displacement of Palestinians from Silwan:

• Peace Now published a very detailed explainer on the four legal cases at the forefront of the fight currently underway.

On the ongoing settler terrorism that is making live untenable for Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills:

• AP published, “Mounting home demolitions and settler attacks plunge a Palestinian village into crisis” (AP)

On the every escalating campaign by settlers to weaponize archaeology in pursuit of displacing PAlestinians and seizing control over the West Bank:

• The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed claiming that the Palestinian Authority is directing the “wanton annihilation of Jewish heritage” in the West Bank and calling for the Israeli government to seize control over all sites in Area B. 

Bonus Reads

1. “The US held off sanctioning this Israeli army unit despite evidence of abuses. Now its forces are shaping the fight in Gaza” (CNN)
2. “Some 100,000 Palestinian Residents of Jerusalem Receive Only 4-12 Hours of Running Water per Week” (Ir Amim)
3. “Israel’s legalization of settlements in the northern West Bank, explained” (Mondoweiss)
4. “Far-right groups that block aid to Gaza receive tax-deductible donations from US and Israel” (AP)
5. “What life is like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation” (Al Jazeera Video)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 7, 2024

1. Jerusalem Flag Parade Terrorizes Jerusalem, Ben Gvir Tests Temple Mount Status Quo
2. IDF Demolishes Outpost, Ben Gvir Calls (Again) for Gallant to Be Dismissed
3. Settlers & Knesset Call for Israel to Create “Special Regime” With Open Fire Directives to Fortify Settlement Safety
4. Israeli Govt is Working with “Friends in the U.S.” To Cancel/Reduce Sanctions on Settlers
5. Bonus Reads

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Jerusalem Flag Parade Terrorizes Jerusalem, Ben Gvir Tests Temple Mount Status Quo

On June 5th, tens of thousands of Israelis – including ministers and Knesset members – took part in the annual Jerusalem Flag parade [of terror] through the Old City of Jerusalem, going from the Damascus Gate, through the Muslim Quarter, and culminating with a rally at the Western Wall Plaza. Demonstrating how inflammatory the march and many of its participants are each year, and how particularly frenzied and emboldened the participants were expected to be this year, 3,000 police officers were deployed along the parade route and throughout the city. In addition to the chants common for years (including “May your village burn,” “Death to Arabs” “Muhammad is dead,” and “May their name be erased”) marchers physically assaulted Palestinians, activists, and Israeli and Palestinian journalists – flaunting their incendiary, criminal behavior while police and military officers largely stood by (thirteen people were arrested, and five detained, including a Palestinian journalist who was attacked). 

In addition, Haaretz reports that hundreds of Israelis were permitted entry to the Temple Mount on June 5th as part of the parade day, which posed a serious test of Netanyahu’s control over his National Security Minister Ben Gvir as well as Netanyahu’s commitment to upholding the delicate and ever-eroding Status Quo on the Temple Mount, which has been succinctly articulated by Bibi Netanyahu himself as: “Muslims pray on the Temple Mount, non-Muslims visit the Temple Mount”. 

Ben Gvir, in his role as the Israeli National Security Minister, is ostensibly in charge of ensuring the security of Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount. True to his ideology and political commitments, Ben Gvir caused a serious panic as the parade began by saying that he had revoked the status quo and that Jews can freely pray on the Temple Mount (an incendiary demand by the Temple Mount Movement to which Ben Gvir subscribes). Netanyahu’s office countered by quickly issuing a statement that the Status Quo has not and will not change. 

While the political drama swirled, Haaretz reported that some of the Jewish Israeli parade-goers who were permitted to go to the Temple Mount started to sing and pray, and then were stopped and removed by Israeli police. An activists who went to the Temple Mount told Arutz Sheva that dozens were removed.

After being overruled by Netanyahu, Ben Gvir did not back down, telling Army Radio after the march that “My policy is very clear on this matter: Jews can be anywhere in Jerusalem, pray anywhere.” 

The Temple Mount issue is not the only headline Ben Gvir made that day. While arriving at the Damascus Gate to join the festivities (along with Smotrich), Ben Gvir he told reporters:

“I came here for one thing, to send a message to Hamas and every house in Gaza and also in the north. Jerusalem is ours. The Damascus Gate, Temple Mount is ours. Today, according to my policy, Jews entered the Old City freely. And also the Temple Mount where they prayed freely. We say in the simplest way, it’s ours. This is the message to Hamas. I pray for the wounded, pray for the release of the hostages. But I say Hamas and Hezbollah must be defeated in war, only in war! And this is ours, our Temple Mount, our Damascus Gate. Let the whole world know it.”

One of the journalists who was assaulted that day, Nir Hasson of Haaretz, later wrote:

“The Flag March on Jerusalem Day is an accurate thermometer of the condition of Israeli society. It measures the levels of hatred, racism and violence in the religious Zionist society and the tolerance of the police and the rest of society to these traits. This year’s diagnosis is terminal. Wednesday’s march was one of the most violent and ugliest I have seen – and I have witnessed every single one over the past 16 years.”

Ir Amim said in a statement calling for the parade to be re-routed away from the Muslim Quarter:

“Against the backdrop of the ongoing devastating war in Gaza and growing international criticism over Israel’s conduct, the Israeli authorities are preparing to mark Jerusalem Day on June 5, which commemorates the “liberation” of East Jerusalem and “re-unification” of the city. This year, the date on which Jerusalem Day is celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar falls on the exact date of the start of the 1967 War and marks 57 years of Israeli occupation and illegal annexation of East Jerusalem. Over the past nearly six decades, consecutive Israeli governments have continued to create irreversible facts on the ground to entrench Israeli control over Jerusalem in its entirety and foil any prospect of an agreed political resolution with two capitals in the city. As a result, it continues to cement a one-state reality of permanent occupation and systematic oppression of Palestinians.”

IDF Demolishes Outpost, Ben Gvir Calls (Again) for Gallant to Be Dismissed

On June 4th the IDF demolished an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank, which was built by settlers without permission on privately owned Palestinian land southwest of Nablus near the settlement called Yair’s Farm. The Israeli Civil Administration reports that a total of six structures were demolished.

The Civil Administration’s action against the outpost elicited the latest repudiation of Gallant by his fellow Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who called on Netanyahu to fire Gallant over the outpost demolition. As a reminder, as a result of a power struggle between Gallant and Smotrich in forming the current government (circa February 2023), Defense Minister Gallant ceded most all authority over civilian matters in the West Bank to Smotrich – – except for the authority over building enforcement laws. However, the compromise was the Gallant had to notify Smotrich of any plans to demolish settlement/outpost construction.  In March 2024, news leaked that Smotrich is actively trying to wrest demolition powers from Gallant, though the demolition this week makes clear that Gallant remains in control (because Smotrich is opposed to enforcing Israeli law if it means holding settlers accountable).

Settlers and their leaders are also furious over the demolition of the outpost, which they say was built in memory of Moti Shamir, who was killed during the Hamas attack on Israeli towns on October 7, 2023. Settlers also say that the land is not privately owned by Palestinians, instead they feel justified in building there because they expect the government to declare the land as “state land” soon. 

Settlers & Knesset Call for Israel to Create “Special Regime” With Open Fire Directives to Fortify Settlement Safety

This week saw several media hits and a Knesset hearing pushing a call along similar lines for the Israeli government to drastically step up its military operations in the West Bank to protect settlements and outposts.

At a Knesset subcommittee hearing on June 2nd, settlers called for the military to undertake more proactive military operations against Palestinian population centers. 

In an op-ed published in Israel Hayom on June 2nd, former national security advisor Meir Ben Shabbat urged the government to establish a “special regime” with “unique open-fire instructions for the Seam Zone”

Yigal Dilmoni had an op-ed published in The Jewish Press on May 28th,  in which he warned that the IDF needs to increase its operations in the West Bank and for settlements to expand in order to prevent another October 7th.

Israeli Govt is Working with “Friends in the U.S.” To Cancel/Reduce Sanctions on Settlers

The Associated Press reports that Bezalel Smotrich said the Israeli government is working with “our friends in the U.S.” to cancel or reduce the Bedien Administrations sanctions on settlers and settler entities believed to be perpetrating violent attacks on Palestinians and activists in the West Bank. The AP’s reporting also demonstrates just how ineffectual those sanctions are, with one of the sanctioned individuals saying that it has only further emboldened him to continue his activities in the West Bank, and that he only experienced financial punishment for two months before the Israeli government and banking sector reopened his accounts, and crowd-funding campaigns raised tens of thousands on his behalf.

Bonus Reads

1. “Worshipers who arrived at Mount Ebal detained by the IDF” (Arutz Sheva)
2. “UN rights office criticises Israel over deaths of 500 Palestinians in West Bank” (Reuters)
3. “In the West Bank, Guns and a Locked Gate Signal a Town’s New Residents” (The New York Times)
4. “Rising violence strikes fear into West Bank school” (Al-Monitor)
5. “Trump Is Desperate for Miriam Adelson’s Cash. Her Condition: West Bank Annexation” (Haaretz)
6. “US sanctions Palestinian group under decree used to target Israeli settlers” (Al Jazeera)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

May 31, 2024

1. Gallant Further Rolls Back 2005 Disengagement Law to Allow Reestablish of Three More Settlements in Northern West Bank
2. Israel Court Finalizes the Dispossession of Shehadeh Family in Silwan
3. Activists Petition for Demolition of Violent Jordan Valley Outpost Under Int’l Sanctions
4. Two New Outposts Reported
5. Extensive Updates on the Continued Politicization of Archaeology in Service of Settlements
6. 21 New Roadblocks & 8 Newly Closed Gates Propel Settler Takeover in Bethlehem Area
7. Bonus Reads

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Gallant Further Rolls Back 2005 Disengagement Law to Allow Reestablish of Three More Settlements in Northern West Bank

On May 22nd, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced that he had ordered the IDF to lift the military order barring Israeli citizens from entering the areas where the Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim settlements once stood in the northern West Bank. Gallant said:

“The Jewish hold on Judea and Samaria guarantees security, the application of the law to cancel disengagement will lead to the development of settlement and provide security to residents of the area,” 

The Times of Israel reports that the head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, signed lifted the military order as Gallant had ordered, but Fox also signed a new order making the three settlement sites closed military zones. Intimating the eventuality of the settlers’ return to the areas, a source in the Israeli military was quoted by Army Radio explaining that the IDF will need to plan and move additional forces to the area in order to provide security for the settlers. Peace Now further reports that over the past year, settlers have visited and held events in the evacuated settlement areas with coordination and security from the IDF.

As a reminder, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation repealing the 2005 Disengagement Law in order to clear the way for settlers to reestablish four settlements in the northern West Bank – Homesh, Sa-Nur, Kadim, and Ganim. The IDF then issued a military closure order against three of the settlements, allowing settlers to enter the Homesh area (where settlers had illegally built and continue to run a yeshiva). 

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“Instead of safeguarding Israel’s security and political interests, Gallant is catering to the extreme settler factions. The last thing Israel needs is more isolated and unnecessary settlements that will be a security burden and move us further away from a necessary and urgent political solution. Our political leadership must change direction, work to end the war and pursue a comprehensive regional agreement based on two states. Only this way will we bring security, return the hostages, and prevent international isolation. This is the real victory.”

Israel Court Finalizes the Dispossession of Shehadeh Family in Silwan

On May 26th, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a last ditch appeal by the Shehadeh family against their eviction from their home in Silwan at the behest of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. In dismissing the procedural appeal (which alleged that the presiding judge mishandled the case, seeking a retrial), the Court once again affirmed its April 2024 ruling that ordered the 15-member family to leave their home by June 1, 2024 – or face eviction by Israeli authorities. 

The Shehadeh family has spent years fighting against their eviction from their home of 60 years in the Batan Al-Hawa section of Silwan at the behest of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. The settler group’s claim to the home is based on having gained control of the historic Benvenisti Trust, which oversaw the assets of Yemenite Jews who lived in Silwan in the 19th century. In 2001 the Israeli Charitable Trust Registrar granted Ateret Cohanim permission to revive the trust and become its trustees, (following 63 years of dormancy). In 2002, the Israeli Custodian General transferred ownership of the land in Batan al-Hawa to the Trust (i.e., to Ateret Cohanim). Since then, Ateret Cohanim has accelerated its multi-pronged campaign to remove Palestinians from their homes, claiming that the Palestinians are illegal squatters. To date, 14 Palestinian families have been evicted under legal campaigns waged by Ateret Cohanim, with many more under threat.

Underscoring how the Israeli legal system is fundamentally unequal, Ir Amim writes:

“The Shehadeh family is among some 85 Palestinian families, numbering over 700 individuals, who face largescale displacement from Batan al-Hawa as a result of eviction demands filed by the Ateret Cohanim settler group, via the Benvenisti Trust…The eviction lawsuits are filed on the basis of the 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters law. Article 5 of this law exclusively affords Jews with land restitution rights for assets they allegedly owned in East Jerusalem before 1948 despite many of these properties now inhabited by Palestinians. This provision was established despite the fact that some Jews who lost properties in East Jerusalem in 1948 reportedly received compensation at the time by the state in the form of alterative property in West Jerusalem (formerly belonging to Palestinian refugees). No parallel legal mechanism exists for Palestinians to recover pre-1948 assets on the Israeli side of the Green Line, many of which are now inhabited by Jews. To the contrary, the 1950 Absentee Property Law enshrines that Palestinians who were forced to abandon their homes and lands in what became Israel after the war of 1948 can never retrieve them.”

The Supreme Court ruling ignores ongoing litigation initiated in 2020 by Ir Amim that challenges the legitimacy and legality of Ateret Cohanim’s control of the Benvenisti Trust. In response to the filing, the Israeli Registrar of Trusts (department within the Justice Ministry) announced that it will open an investigation into the allegations. Ir Amim is still awaiting news on the investigation.

Activists Petition for Demolition of Violent Jordan Valley Outpost Under Int’l Sanctions

Peace Now and activists in the Jordan Valley filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice seeking the enforcement of existing demolition orders against the illegal outpost called “Moshe’s Farm.” The outpost is is illegal under Israeli law and has recently been subjected to international sanctions by states targeting settlers and associated organizations that perpetrate violence in the West Bank. The founder of the outpost, Moshe Sharvit, was also sanctioned.

The Israeli Civil Administration issued demolition orders against Moshe’s Farm in 2021 because it has been build without Israeli building permits. The demolition orders have never been enforced, allowing the outpost to take over more land, terrorize surrounding Palestinian communities, and expand the number of buildings and amenities – including a water and electricity supply for air conditioning, a pool, and enough infrastructure to support up to 100 people. The outpost also herds livestock in the area – which has proven to be and effective means for settlers to coerce the displacement of Palestinians and assert control a maximal amount of land with a minimal number of Israeli settlers.

Highlighting the impact the outpost has had on the area, Peace Now writes:

“Since the farm was established, the lives of the surrounding Palestinian shepherd communities have become unbearable, to the point that some have been forced to flee their homes. Moshe Sharvit and other young people from the farm go out daily to drive away Palestinian herds and prevent them from reaching grazing areas. The Jordan Valley Activists group, a group of Israeli volunteers who invest their time and energy in trying to assist and protect the Palestinian shepherd communities in the Jordan Valley, began accompanying the shepherd communities near Sharvit’s farm immediately after the farm was established. They go to the grazing areas with the Palestinian shepherds, document the harassment and attacks, try to prevent harm to the Palestinians and reach out to the police. The Jordan Valley activists have accumulated testimonies and videos of dozens, if not hundreds, of incidents of harassment and violence by the farm residents, for which dozens of complaints have been filed with the police.”

Two New Outposts Reported

Peace Now reports that settlers have illegally constructed a new outpost in the South Hebron Hills, near the Otniel settlement. From pictures, it looks like settlers have driven in at least six mobile homes onto a cleared plot of land. This outpost is the 200th illegal outpost that Peace Now has documented.

In addition, Wafa News also reported a new outpost north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley. According a local activist Ayman Gharib, “Around 15 illegal settlers brought building equipment and set up a new settlement outpost about 300 meters from Al-Auja water canal.” Gharib further reports that this is the second new outpost in the area in the same number of weeks and that the canal is a significant source of water for communities north of Jericho.

Extensive Updates on the Continued Politicization of Archaeology in Service of Settlements

Emek Shaveh provides extensive updates showing how antiquity continues to be weaponized by Isareli settlers in full cooperation with the government, including the following news:

• New Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Heritage. On Sunday May 5th the Israeli government approved the appointment of a new CEO for the Ministry of Heritage, Itay Granik, who is a right-wing political activist. 
• Head of IAA is strengthening relationships with ultra nationalists. The Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) Eli Escusido gave a lecture at Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party faction meeting in the Knesset. Emek Shaveh writes: “The fact that the IAA is deepening its partnership with political actors and ideological-messianic organizations represents a further shift away from the authority’s obligation to professionalism and public service.  The choice to harness archaeology to the agenda of the extreme Right in Israel and their evangelical counterparts is a highly worrying departure from its professional and ethical foundations. Pursuing this path  will no doubt result in the  growing isolation of the entire Israeli archaeological community.”
• Tender for Jerusalem Cable Car possibly coming up. Emek Shaveh says, “The progress made by the JDA in recruiting multiple consultants lead us to believe that a tender for construction of the cable car will likely be published in the near future.”
• Hapoalim Bank Subsidizes Visits to Settler Sites in the West Bank: Bank Hapoalim and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) sponsored, advertised and subsidized tours/events for Israelis in settlement sites in the Greater Jerusalem area, including at a site operated by the Elad settler organization in the Hinnom Valley, in Nabi Samuel, and in collaboration with a settler organization called “Eshkolot“, which runs tourist centers for Israelis in the West Bank.

21 New Roadblocks & 8 Newly Closed Gates Propel Settler Takeover in Bethlehem Area

In a new report entitled, “An Israeli roadblock: How Israel Took Control Over the West Bethlehem area,” Kerem Navot takes a detailed look at how – in the wake of October 7, 2023 –  Israeli settlers and the IDF have significantly entrenched and expanded their control over the areas to the south and east of Bethlehem through the restriction of freedom of movement and denial of access to agricultural land. Kerem Navot emphasizes that “the reality described [in this report] is the outcome of decades of planning and efforts aimed at taking control of lands and displacing their owners. These efforts have been greatly intensified since October 7.”

The report’s main findings are that, since October 7th:

• 21 roadblocks and barriers have been added on agricultural roads. Today, there are a total of 60 roadblocks and barriers. This means that over a third of the roadblocks and barriers in the area were installed in the seven months following the onset of the war. The new roadblocks and barriers in this area serve two interconnected purposes: 1) Preventing Palestinians from exiting their villages onto the bypass roads. 2) Blocking agricultural roads leading to agricultural lands, primarily situated west of Route 60.
• A roadblock on the Nahalin-Bethlehem road was relocated from its original location to a new location, in order to facilitate the settlers of Neve Daniel in taking control of an area west of the settlement.
• One metal gate was relocated and completely closed to the east of the illegal outpost of Sde Boaz, enabling the settlers to extend their control over additional areas surrounding the outpost.
• Three gates (two on the access roads to Husan village and one south of Nahalin village) that were open prior to the 7th of October have been completely closed ever since.
• Four gates that Palestinian farmers previously used to access their lands adjacent to the settlement of Efrat, have been completely sealed off to Palestinians. As a result, these lands remained uncultivated ever since.

The report was covered by Haaretz, in which Amira Hass wrote:

“The de facto expulsion of Palestinian farmers and shepherds is one of the means through which the army and the settlers have been preventing Palestinians across the West Bank from cultivating fields and vineyards, or from tending their flocks, more intensively so since October 7. Here, west of Bethlehem, in an area dotted with settlements and outposts in what is known as “Gush Etzion,” the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands is also achieved through an extensive network of locked iron gates, as well as 24 rock and earth barriers across agricultural roads. This is in addition to barriers across exits to main roads, meant to reduce the traffic of Palestinian vehicles….Theoretically, every roadblock requires some kind of land expropriation order. Etkes is unaware of any such order, and in truth, there are no supporting orders for the old roadblocks either. For a long time, it’s been hard to distinguish between local initiatives by settlers (military or civilian) to block access to Palestinians and temporary orders of the army. The boundaries are completely blurred”

Bonus Reads

1. “PRESS RELEASE Booking.com sued for laundering profits from Israeli war crimes in Palestine” (Al-Haq, SOMO, ELSC, TRF)
2. “Al-Aqsa ‘belongs only to Israel’, says Ben Gvir during ‘incendiary’ visit” (Middle East Eye)
3. “Israel’s FM Cuts Ties Between Spanish Embassy and West Bank Palestinians After Recognition of Palestinian State” (Haaretz)
4. “​​Opinion | The Polite Israeli Settlers, Courteously Dispossessing Palestinians” (Amira Hass, Haaretz)
5. “Backing settlement, Ben Gvir says he’d be ‘very happy to live in Gaza’ after the war” (The Times of Israel)