Settlement & Annexation Report: September 19, 2025

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

September 19, 2025

  1. Israel Advances Plans for 1,276 New Settlement Units
  2. Israel Tells PA It Will Act Unilaterally on Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron
  3. Escalating Attacks, Violence, Dispossession and Takeover in Ramallah Area
  4. U.S. Secretary of State Attends Settler Archaeology Event in Silwan
  5. Bonus Reads

Israel Advances Plans for 1,276 New Settlement Units

The Israeli Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Council met on September 17th and advanced plans for the construction of 1,276 new settlement units in the West Bank.

The approved plans include:

  • Elaazar: 66 new settlement units
  • Ma’ale Amos: 371 new settlement units
  • Ariel: 280 new settlement units
  • Gitit: 281 new settlement units
  • Avigail – 278 new settlement units were approved for deposit. Avigail was an illegal outpost until 2023, when the Israeli government afforded it official recognition along with nine other outposts.
  • Plans for a new industrial zone in the Omerim settlement were  authorized for deposit.

Israel Tells PA It Will Act Unilaterally on Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron

Peace Now reports that on September 15th the Israeli Civil Administration finalized an order that seizes, for the first time, space inside the upper prayer floor in the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs in order to erect a new roof over the inner courtyard. This was all done over the objections of the Palestinian Authority, which violates agreements for managing the site set out in the 1997 Hebron Protocol, which assigns planning and construction authority at the site to the Palestinian Authority. According to the settler-run Arutz Sheva outlet, the Civil Administration informed the PA about the order and insisted that the status quo arrangement is still in affect.

Peace Now reports further detail:

“The expropriation order was made possible after the Defense Ministry’s legal advisory office, recently reshaped under Minister Bezalel Smotrich, approved it. While presented as a technical step regarding an open space, in reality it constitutes a major structural change to a historic religious site, and another stage in the erosion of the fragile arrangements that safeguard access and worship at holy places. This process began four years ago, when Israel constructed an elevator at the site, despite significant public opposition, including from Israelis, and after a prolonged legal battle.”

The upper prayer hall of the Tomb of the Patriarchs contains the tombs of six religious figures: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah, alongside a Muslim prayer area. The open courtyard at its center connects the tombs and worship spaces. The existing structure was built during the Mamluk period (13th–16th centuries), on foundations dating back to Herod’s time in the 1st century BCE.

The annexationist government is playing with fire and with the security of us all. The Cave of the Patriarchs is regarded as the fourth holiest site in Islam, following Al-Aqsa Mosque, and any unilateral change is perceived by millions of Muslims as a humiliation and an attack on a sacred place. Documents recently exposed by intelligence services revealed the central role that messianic provocations on the Temple Mount — backed by the government — played in Hamas’s preparations for October 7. The government is dragging us into a religious war in the name of a messianic fringe. Anyone who truly cares about the Cave of the Patriarchs should seek an agreement with the Palestinians that would allow for consensual changes to holy sites, with the consent of all parties involved.”

Escalating Attacks, Violence, Dispossession and Takeover in Ramallah Area 

The areas surrounding Ramallah have been increasingly volatile as settlers terrorize villages on the outskirts of the Palestinians’ de facto capital city.

Settlers attacked the village of Jaba’ on September 13th, just the latest in a long line of attacks since the settlers established an illegal outpost nearby in February 2025. Palestinians report setting up a night watch because of the regularity of settler arson attacks on their homes, lands and livestocks. The IDF has demolished the outpost six times, but settlers are not prevented from reestablishing it – which they do.

Last week settlers clashed with Palestinians near Deir Jarir, located northeast of Ramallah, during which a 21-year old Palestinian was shot and killed (either by settlers or an IDF soldier, reports are disputed).

The week before, settlers attacked the village of Atara, setting vehicles on first and spraying hateful graffiti.

U.S. Secretary of State Attends Settler Archaeology Event in Silwan

On September 16th, U.S. Secretary of State participated in a private ceremony inaugurating a new section of the “Pilgrim’s Road,” the excavation of which is a settler-run project in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, located in the shadow of the Old City. Rubio’s visit lends U.S. support for state-backed settler domination over the Silwan neighborhood, where settlers have conspired with the state to weaponize archaeology as a tool for mass displacement of Palestinians.

Indeed, the Pilgrim’s Road runs under the homes of residents in Silwan, and according to Emek Shaveh:

“The gradated street (no. 10 on the map) was dug as a tunnel by the Antiquities Authority and it is part of the Israeli governments’ Shalem Plan which is intended to strengthen Israeli presence in the Old City basin through extensive tourism development and archaeological excavations in Silwan and the Old City….The use of archaeology by Israel and the settlers as a political tool is a part of a strategy to shape the historic city and unilaterally entrench Israeli sovereignty over ancient Jerusalem. It is a process which is likely to produce devastating results for both Israel and the Palestinians.  It is inexcusable to ignore the Palestinian residents of Silwan, carrying out extensive excavations of an underground city and to use such excavations as part of an effort to tell a historic story that is exclusively Jewish in a 4,000 year-old city with a rich and diverse cultural and religious past.”

Fakhri Abu Diab, an activist from Silwan, said told Al-Monitor:

“This act by the United States gives the green light for more settlement expansion, demolitions, ethnic cleansing, and all the practices carried out by Israel.”

Bonus Reads

  1. “Israel Demolishes Palestinian Village Attacked by Settlers in West Bank” (Haaretz, 9/18/25)
  2. “How Israel’s Education Minister Is Using School Trips to Push a Far-right Agenda” (Haaretz, 9/15/25)
  3. “‘An Imposition of a Political Stance’ Israeli Principals Slam Plan to Give More Funding to West Bank School Trips Over Domestic Trips” (Haaretz, 9/17/25)
  4. “Oscar-winning Palestinian director Basel Adra says his home in West Bank raided by Israeli soldiers” (AP, 9/14/25)
  5. “EU Proposes Sanctions on Israel: Suspending Trade Benefits, Targeting Far-right Ministers” (Haaretz, 9/17/25)
  6. “In the West Bank, Trump Is Not Standing in Israel’s Way” (New York Times, 9/19/25)
  7. “Editorial: Israel’s ‘Real Estate Bonanza’ Involves Wiping Gaza Off the Face of the Earth” (Haaretz, 9/19/25)
  8. “EU Proposes Sanctions on Israel: Suspending Trade Benefits, Targeting Far-right Ministers” (Haaretz, 9/17/25)
  9. “Ambassador Huckabee receives honorary Samaria citizenship” (Arutz Sheva, 9/17/25)

 

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

August 29, 2025

  1. Settlers Continue to Terrorize & Take Over South Hebron Hills Communities
  2. Senior Israeli Officials Appear to be Making Rounds to Illegal Outposts
  3. The IDF’s Collective Punishment of Al-Mughayyir Spurs Fears of West Bank Genocide
  4. Bonus Reads

Settlers Continue to Terrorize & Take Over South Hebron Hills Communities

Over the past week there have been several reported settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills, including one brutal attack on Palestinians and Israeli activists in the village of Qawawis that left seven people wounded. Masked settlers were filmed assaulting people and damaging property with huge clubs.

In addition to perpetrating unabated violence, settlers have also established several new outposts in the South Hebron Hills area, furthering their de facto annexation and the violent, coerced displacement of Palestinians. 

One of the new outposts was established just meters from Palestinian homes in the village of Umm Al-Khair, the site of the recent murder of Awdah Hathaleen by the internationally sanctioned settler Yinon Levy. The new outpost has been established on the area of land Yinon Levy was illegally clearing before he shot and killed Hathaleen. Peace Now reports settlers have brought in four pre-fab mobile homes on the land and it appears settlers intend to bring in at least two more caravans there.

The new outpost threatens to bisect the lands and neighborhoods of Um Al-Khair, pinching off the northern part of the village from the southern part. Tariq Hathaleen, a resident of Um Al-Khair and the brother of Awdah, told Haaretz:

“I think these trailers have been placed there mainly to pressure the community…It’s not as if they lack land. There are millions of dunams around, but they’re coming to this spot to pressure the community and the people to leave. That’s the aim of these trailers.”

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This is the peak of the Israeli government’s mistreatment of the residents of Um al-Kheir. After decades of home demolitions, the denial of permits and infrastructure, and escalating violence from settlers and the army, comes the harsh blow of establishing a permanent outpost in the middle of the village. The settlers who erected the illegal outpost overnight did so on behalf of the authorities, with direct support from the Har Hevron Regional Council, the army, the police and the government. Since the formation of the Smotrich-Ben Gvir government, about 90 Palestinian communities have been displaced by violent settlers who established nearby outposts. The aim of the new outpost in Um al-Kheir is clear: to drive the residents from their land.”

In addition – Palestinian news sources report three new outposts were established on lands belonging to the village of Birin in the South Hebron Hills. Settlers have spent the better part of two months preparing the land for establishing an outpost, by clearing roads, destroying crops and intimidating Palestinians out of the area.  

Senior Israeli Officials Appear to be Making Rounds to Illegal Outposts

Senior Israeli security officials are helping advance the mission of Smotrich’s Settlement Administration to advance the de facto annexation of the West Bank by solidifying the presence of outposts across the West Bank.i

On August 13th the commander of Israel’s West Bank police district Moshe Pinchi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir,  visited an illegal outpost called “Ma’aleh Tidhar” known to be associated with the violent Hilltop Youth movement. The men were photographed next to violent settler Elisha Yered – who was arrested under suspicion of murder in 2023 but released. Yered later tweeted:

“To reach Ma’aleh Tidhar, a strategic outpost established about a month and a half ago to link the eastern and central parts of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, you have to climb a rough dirt track that barely a 4×4 can manage…But the national security minister, Itamar, did it today along with MK Limor Son Har-Melech, and even brought with him the West Bank district’s officers to show his firm stand with us.”

On August 24th, two high ranking Israeli IDF officers (Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir & Central Command Commander Avi Bluth) visited the illegal outpost called Maoz Shaul, located near the Avnei Hefetz settlement in the northern West Bank.  It appears the visit was not meant to catch press attention, but nonetheless indicates the IDF’s knowledge of the new and illegal outpost, and its support for its continued presence in the area.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also is a Minister in the Defense Ministry, celebrated the occasion saying in a tweet that the visit shows the IDF’s ““excellent cooperation” with his work to legalize outpost, and that “The farms lead the way in pioneering settlement in Judea and Samaria, acting as a vital shield for many communities there, as well as for the Sharon region [on the coastal plain] and other parts of the country.”

The IDF’s Collective Punishment of Al-Mughayyir Spurs Fears of West Bank Genocide

The Israeli army uprooted over 10,000 olive trees during a three day siege on the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir northeast of Ramllah, in what is a forthright declaration of collective punishment of the entire village following an alleged terror attack near the Adei Ad settlement. During the IDF’s siege on the village, +972 Magazine reports residents lived under curfew while every home in the village was raided, businesses were closed and the village was sealed shut. The IDF caused significant destruction to the village streets, infrastructure, homes, and businesses.

IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth made it clear that Israel’s policy is that of collective punishment, saying at a press briefing:

“Every village and every enemy must know that if they carry out an attack against the residents [settlers], they will pay a heavy price…They will experience a curfew, they will experience a siege, and they will experience shaping operations…We are now getting a grip on this village…The first mission is to hunt [the assailant] … The second is to carry out shaping operations here, and to ensure that everyone is deterred — not only this village, but every village that tries to raise a hand against the residents [settlers].”

Following Bluth’s remarks, +972 Magazine reports Yesh Din and ACRI (two Israeli human rights groups) have filed a criminal complaint with the Military Advocate General, calling for an investigation into war crimes.

Kareem Jubran, director of the field research department of the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, told Haaretz: 

“Our greatest fear – and we emphasized this when we [B’Tselem] presented our genocide report – is that every small incident will now immediately cause an insane Israeli response. We saw that last week in al-Mughayyir. Every trigger can produce genocide in the West Bank, too. What happened here is the proof of that.”.

Deputy Council Head of the village, Abu Na’im, told Haaretz: 

“That is their goal, for us to leave. It is perhaps a different tactic from Gaza, but the goal is the same.” 

Bonus Reads

  1. “West Bank Monthly Snapshot – Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement | July 2025” (OCHA, 8/22/25)
  2. “Chairman Lawler Introduces Bill to Repeal Inactive Restrictions on Building U.S. Facilities in Israel” (Press Release, 815/25)
  3. “Fears Israeli forces turning Sebastia into garrison to ‘Judaize’ site” (The New Arab, 8/27/25)
  4. “’Neglect and Apathy’ | Israel’s UNRWA Closures Leave Hundreds of Palestinian Students in East Jerusalem Without Schools as Summer Ends” (Haaretz, 8/28/25)
  5. “As World Leaders Push for a Palestinian State, in the West Bank, ‘Annexation Is Reality’” (Haaretz, 8/27/25)
  6. “Will Israel’s West Bank Settlement Plan Ignite the Third Intifada?” (Haaretz, 8/25/2025)
  7. “Tiny Patch of West Bank Land Fuels Dreams of Greater Israel” (New York Times, 8/25/2025)
  8. “How Israel Is Funding Settler Violence To Overrun Palestinian Villages in the West Bank” (New Lines Magazine, 8/27/2025)

 

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

July 25, 2025

  1. Violence, Anarchy in Northern West Bank as Outpost Settlers Reign Terror on Palestinians & Israeli Force
  2. Red Alert: Planning Committee to Convene on E-1 Settlement Plan
  3. Ramallah Area Settler Violence Reaches Extreme, Settlers Murder U.S. Citizen
  4. Another Bedouin Community Displaced in Jordan Valley By Unabated Settler Terrorism
  5. Israel Sidesteps Palestinian Authority to Renovate Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs
  6. Bonus Reads

Knesset Votes for West Bank Annexation

On July 23rd, the Israeli Knesset voted 71-13 in favor of a non-binding declaration to unilaterally annex the West Bank. The resolution called on the government to “apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgement and administration to all the areas of Jewish settlement of all kinds in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.”

Following the vote, the newly-elected Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana said: 

“This is our land. This is our home. The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. In 1967, the occupation did not begin; it ended, and our homeland was returned to its rightful owners. We are the original first natives of this piece of land. Jews cannot be the ‘occupier’ of a land that for 3,000 years has been called Judea.”

Yisrael Ganz, head of a settler regional council and Chairman of the settler Yesha Council, stated: 

“I thank the ministers and Members of Knesset from both the coalition and the opposition who voted for this important proposal to advance Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. The approval of the proposal, by a large majority of Zionist MKs, once again proves the broad support of the people of Israel for Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. It is clear and undeniable evidence of the national will to realize our values and our right to our land. This vote is a significant milestone on the path toward advancing the strategic step that will fortify the security of the entire State of Israel. I now call on the Government of Israel: Turn this decision into reality on the ground. We are at a critical and historic juncture. We must not miss this opportunity. The Yesha Council will continue to work tirelessly until Israeli sovereignty is applied in Judea and Samaria.”

Red Alert: Planning Committee to Convene on E-1 Settlement Plan

The High Planning Council is expected to convene on August 6th to advance plans for the construction of the controversial E-1 settlement project. Assuming there is not another last-minute decision to take E-1 off the agenda (something that could well happen, and has happened repeatedly) this upcoming meeting promises to be a decisive one for the long-pending E-1 plan. A subcommittee is scheduled to hear the remaining public objections to the plan, after which it is highly likely the subcommittee will recommend that the full Council approves the plan for validation. Terrestrial Jerusalem notes that, with the dismissal of objections on August 6th, the E-1 settlement plan will be “just one pen-stroke away from final statutory approval.”

Settlement experts are united in raising the alarm over the August 6th meeting, and the signal it sends regarding the government’s determination to destroy any last chance of a future Palestinian state. The E-1 settlement has, for decades, been viewed as a “dooms-day” settlement and treated as a red-line for countries pushing diplomatic efforts towards a two state solution. E-1 is also vehemently opposed by Palestinians and human rights activists because of the impact it will have on thousands of bedouin who live in the area slated for the settlements’ construction, just east of Jerusalem. Construction of this settlement would have severe geopolitical implications (cutting the West Bank in half, cutting it off from East Jerusalem); would necessitate the forcible transfer of several bedouin communities (a war crime); and affect thousands of Palestinians (shredding the fabric of life).

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“The Netanyahu-Smotrich government is exploiting the war in Gaza and the current internal and international power dynamics to establish facts on the ground that would eliminate any prospect for peace and a two-state reality. The government is condemning us to continued conflict and bloodshed and is leading Israel to the edge of the abyss. Advancing the E1 plan could be a generational disaster that would make peace even harder to achieve in the future.”

In its current form, the E-1 plan provides for the construction of 3,412 new settlement units on a site located northeast of Jerusalem. The site is home to several Palestinian bedouin communities, comprising 3,000 people, including Khan al-Ahmar, which Israel is planning to forcibly relocate. There have been attempts to promote the E-1 plan since the early 1990s, but due to wall-to-wall international opposition, the plan was not advanced until 2012. At that time Netaynuahu ordered it to be approved for deposit for public review (a key step in the approval process), ostensibly as payback for the Palestinians seeking recognition at the United Nations. Following an outcry from the international community, the plan again went into a sort of dormancy, only to be put back on the agenda by Netanyahu in February 2020, when he was facing his third round of elections in two years.  Also, as a reminder: under the Trump Plan (which the Biden Administration has yet to comment on), the area where E-1 is located is slated to become part of Israel.

Ramallah Area Settler Violence Reaches Extreme, Settlers Murder U.S. Citizen

On July 11th Israeli settlers attacked the West Bank village of Sinjil and killed two Palestinians – one of which was a U.S. citizen, Saif Musalat. The attack and Sinjil and murder of Musalat was just one part of a weeks long escalating settler terror campaign waged against Palestinian villages in the Ramallah area.  The campaign of terror in the area includes the settlers’ attacks on Turmus Aya, Kufir Malk and the Christian village of Taybeh. Five Palestinians have been killed during these attacks.

The attacks on Taybeh and the murder of a U.S. citizen has received more attention from Israeli and international press than many of the other attacks, given the equities at stake. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee – a Christian Zionist – even called for Israel to investigate the murder. Having tracked accountability efforts for years, data compiled by Yesh Din demonstrates there is a 3% probability that a settler is held accountable for an alleged crime.

Another Bedouin Community Displaced in Jordan Valley By Unabated Settler Terrorism

On July 4th, hundreds of residents of the Mu’arjat bedouin village north of Jericho were coerced into leaving their village under the constant and escalating terrorism of nearby settlers seeking to displace and replace the Palestinians, annexing the land and banishing the people. In the days immediately preceding the decision by residents to leave, settlers launched two days of attacks on the village during which they vandalized homes and stole livestock. This is the 30th community to be displaced since October 2023. Haaretz reports that there is only one remaining bedouin village in the vicinity of where Mua’arjat once stood — an area near the Kohhav Hashahar settlement and its violent outposts in the Jordan Valley. 

Yosef Malihaat, a 35-year old former resident of Mu’arjat, told Haaretz: 

“Our lives here are over. The settlers came right up to our house and threatened us. It’s incredibly painful to leave this land – we were born here. There’s no law in Israel today, and that’s why they send these people here – they’re criminals. It’s all intentional. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It’s dangerous to keep our children here. They’ve destroyed our livelihood, and when we called the police, they did nothing,”

OCHA said in a statement:

“The forced displacement of the Al Mu’arrajat East community highlights the deepening protection crisis facing Palestinian herding communities in Area C, where a coercive environment, characterized by settler violence, land confiscation, restricted freedom of movement and lack of law enforcement, continue to deprive families of safety, accountability, and any real prospect of return. The impact is severe and multifaceted; families are experiencing heightened insecurity, psychological distress, and loss of livelihoods, with women, children and older persons facing the greatest vulnerabilities due to forced displacement.”

B’Tselem said in an email:

“Last week, the expulsion of another community in the West Bank was completed. The residents of Mu’arrajat in the Jordan Valley, near Jericho, endured years of daily violence by settlers who invaded their community, stole and poisoned livestock, torched the mosque and violently attacked the school. This past weekend, the last remaining families decided to dismantle their homes, pack up and leave, after settlers recently established an outpost within the community itself, took over homes and stole dozens of sheep.

Mu’arrajat was a longstanding, sizable community, home to about 70 families and some 600 residents. Years of violence and harassment by settlers, the military and the Civil Administration gradually drove residents to leave, until the last families left this past weekend. It is the 30th community expelled from the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza, as part of Israel’s campaign to ethnically cleanse Area C through a combination of military force and settler violence.”

Israel Sidesteps Palestinian Authority to Renovate Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs

Israeli press reports that the Defense Ministry has decided to take unilateral administrative control over the Cave of the Patriarch/Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebon, further stripping the Palestinian Authority/Hebron Municipality of its role in administering the site. The Defense Ministry is reportedly doing this with an eye towards renovating the site, and doing so without consultation or approval from Palestinians.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The annexationist government is playing with fire and with the security of us all. The Cave of the Patriarchs is considered the fourth holiest site in Islam after Al-Aqsa Mosque, and any unilateral change is perceived by millions of Muslims as a humiliation and an attack on a sacred place. Documents recently exposed by intelligence services revealed the central role that messianic provocations on the Temple Mount — backed by the government — played in Hamas’s preparations for October 7. The government is dragging us into a religious war in the name of a messianic fringe. Anyone who truly cares about the Cave of the Patriarchs should seek an agreement with the Palestinians that would allow for consensual changes to holy sites, with the consent of all parties involved.”

Bonus Reads

  1. “‘No life without water’: Settler attacks threaten West Bank communities” (Al-Arabiya, 7/20/25)
  2. “8 U.S. states to advance law requiring use of ‘Judea and Samaria’ in official documents” (Ynet, 7/20/25)
  3. “Huckabee visits Christian Samaria village said to have been targeted by Israeli extremists” (JNS, 7//20/25)
  4. “In sign of shift, far-right US network airs segment on unchecked settler violence” (The Times of Israel, 7/18/25)

 

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 23, 2024

  1. Smotrich Tours Land Near Bethlehem He Now Controls, Threatens Systematic Demolition of Palestinian Buildings
  2. Following Pogrom in Jit, Borrel Threatens EU Sanctions Against Israeli Ministers
  3. New Outpost Reported Near Jericho
  4. IDF Invades Ramallah Neighborhoods to Demolish Two Homes
  5. The Israeli Government Has Transferred 150,000+ Guns to Settlers
  6. Peace Now Releases New Settlements Map
  7. Bonus Reads

Smotrich Tours Land Near Bethlehem He Now Controls, Threatens Systematic Demolition of Palestinian Buildings

On August 18th, Bezalel Smotrich staged a tour of a large swath of land in Area B near Bethlehem which was recently transferred into his hands by the Israeli military. While there, Smotrich told announced that he is advancing immediate plans to scale up systematic demolitions of Palestinian buildings in the area – a  saying, “we will roll up our sleeves, the State of Israel returns to being the owner of the house.”

In July, Peace Now reported that the Israeli Commander of the Central Command signed two 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.  These lands constitute what is referred to as the “Agreed-Upon Reserve” as delineated by the Wye Agreement in 1998, at which time the Palestinian Authority was granted civilian control (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 the entire “Agreed-Upon Reserve”, 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). 

Peace now reports:

“One of the arguments made by settlers against Palestinian construction in these Areas is that it harms important natural values. However, this claim is full of hypocrisy. First, as mentioned, the Agreed-Upon Reserve is called “Green Area” by virtue of the agreement. The territory determined by professionals who found that it indeed holds worthy natural values deserving protection, and its precise boundaries were not set. Moreover, at the same cabinet meeting a month ago, where it was decided to start demolishing Palestinian homes in the Agreed-Upon Reserve, it was also decided to establish a new settlement on the lands of Battir village (Nahal Heletz settlement). This settlement is intended to be established in the heart of a site declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site in danger. Thus, it is difficult to argue that nature preservation is at the forefront of the cabinet ministers’ priorities. Lastly, there are many cases in which settlements harm real nature reserves, but authorities are not eager to address them.”

Following Pogrom in Jit, Borrel Threatens EU Sanctions Against Israeli Ministers

In the week since settlers from the Havat Gilad outpost led a pogrom against the Palestinian village of Jit – resulting in the murder of 1 Palestinian, injuries to many others, and widespread fire damage of homes,vehicles, and property – sustained international criticism of the Israeli government’s non-response has finally resulted in the arrest of four suspects. 

The U.S. vocally criticized the Israeli government for failing to curb settler violence, and European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell Fonteles announced that he is advancing sanctions against violent settlers and complicit Israeli government ministers. One possible target for sanctions is the Amana settler group, which was recently sanctioned by the Canadian government. Peace Now has produced a new succinct report revealing the depths to which Amana finances and leads illegal settlement activity – making it an obvious and impactful target for serious international sanctions regimes.

New Outpost Reported Near Jericho

Palestinian sources report that settlers have established a new outpost north of Jericho, near the Auja spring.

IDF Invades Ramallah Neighborhoods to Demolish Two Homes

On August 12th a large Israeli force arrived in neighborhoods on the outskirts of Ramallah to demolish two Palestinian homes that were alleged to be the homes of Palestinians accused of participating in a violent attack targeting Israelis. During the IDF’s incursion – which included hundreds of Israeli soldiers and tens of military vehicles – two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces, and at least nine others sustained injuries. OCHA reports that, in addition to the two homes which were detonated, “16 other residences were damaged, and 12 households comprising 49 people, including four children, were forced to temporarily evacuate their homes at midnight.”

The Israeli Government Has Transferred 150,000+ Guns to Settlers

Visualizing Palestine has released a new visual showing the huge number of military grade guns that have been transferred to settlers by the Israeli government since October 7, 2023 – – and how the increase in number of guns has fueled the establishment of over 800 new settler militias and police forces. This has coincided, predictably, with the increase in frequency and severity of settler attacks on Palestinians — and the total impunity within which settlers are allowed to continue their terrorism.

Check out the graphics and underlying data here.

Peace Now Releases New Settlements Map

Peace Now has published a new highly detailed map of West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements. 

Along with the map, Peace Now provided a new graphic capturing the current state of the settlement enterprise in the West Bank, where there are:

  • 478,000 settlers;
  • 147 settlements;
  • 201 outposts (90 of which are argricultural/farming outposts).

Bonus Reads

  1. “Injuries during Israeli military incursion into Qalqilya area-town” (Wafa News)