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

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

February 21, 2025

Israel Advances Plans for 1,000 New Settlement Units

• “Watchdog says plans advancing for nearly 1,000 more settler homes in West Bank” (The Times of Israel, 2/17/25)
• “Israel plans 1,000-unit expansion for occupied West Bank settlement: NGO” (Al Jazeera, 2/17/25)

Israel Moves to Seize Armenian Patriarchate Land in Old City of Jerusalem

• “Church leaders condemn foreclosure against Armenian Patriarchate, call for urgent intervention” (Orthodox Times, 2/21/25)
• “Armenian Patriarchate warns Israel intends to confiscate properties in East Jerusalem” (MEMO, 2/20/25)
• “Jerusalem Christians launch ‘existential’ campaign to delay crippling Israeli taxes” (The Nation, 2/19/25)
• For background, see:
  • “State Begins Land Registration in the Armenian Quarter, Where Settlers Look to Win” (FMEP Settlement Report, 2/9/24)

Settlers to Convene Conference Demanding Establishment of Gaza Settlements

• “Occupy, expel, settle’: Large ultranationalist rally next week to urge Israeli takeover of Gaza” (The Times of Israel, 2/20/25)
• “Ultranationalist demo for expulsion of Gazans, building settlements, set for next week” (The Times of Israel, 2/20/24)

Israel’s “Gazafication” of the West Bank Continues: News & Analysis

• “Israeli forces escalate arrests and crackdown in West Bank” (Middle East Eye, 2/21/25)
• “IDF blocks entry to ‘certain areas’ of West Bank” (Jerusalem Post, 2/21/25)
• “Israel continues its wide-scale assault on Jenin for 32nd day” (Wafa, 2/21/25)
• “Israeli military conducts ‘intensive operation’ in West Bank after bus blasts” (Politico, 2/21/25)
• “Accompanied by soldiers, Netanyahu enters Palestinian home in Tulkarem refugee camp, West bank” (Andalou Agency, 2/21/25)
• “Israel demolishes West Bank apartment buildings as military campaign displaces tens of thousands of Palestinians” (CNN, 2/19/25)
• “Israeli forces storm multiple areas across the West Bank” (Wafa, 2/21/25)
• “Worse than the Second Intifada’: West Bank refugees reel from Israeli offensive” (+972 Magazine, 2/21/25)
• “UN rights office condemns continuing Israeli military operation in West Bank” (United Nations, 2/14/25)
• “Humanitarian Situation Update #266 | West Bank” (OCHA)
• “The IRC warns intensifying violence in the West Bank is having a devastating impact on children’s lives and preventing vital aid delivery” (International Rescue Committee, 2/20/25)
• “Editorial | Gazafication of the West Bank Won’t Solve Israel’s Security Problems. It Has to Stop” (Haaretz, 2/17/25)
• “Thousands of Palestinian families flee West Bank homes as Israel confronts militants” (AP)
• “West Bank terror crackdown sees largest displacement of Palestinians since 1967” (The Times of Israel, 2/19/25)
• “Palestinian Displacement in the West Bank Is Highest Since 1967, Experts Say” (New York Times, 2/18/25)
• “One month into Israel’s West Bank offensive, violence and uncertainty are the new normal” (Mondoweiss, 2/18/25)

Settler Terrorism Continues

• “Palestinians in West Bank Sue Israeli Army, Police for Failing to Stop Settler Riot Despite Advanced Warning” (Haaretz, 2/21/25)
• “For Over a Year, Israeli Authorities Ignored Settlers’ Attacks. Then This Happened” (Haaretz, 2/20/25) 
• “Israeli colonists burn vehicle and vandalize property south of Hebron” (Wafa, 2/21/25)
• “Dozens of Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians in the West Bank; Six Wounded, No Arrests” (Haaretz, 2/17/25)

Knesset’s Multi-Pronged Attack on Civil Society

• “‘Shutting People Up’: Israeli Lawmakers Advance Bill Targeting Funding of Foreign-funded NGOs” (Haaretz, 2/20/25)
• “Left-wing Israeli NGOs Fear Knesset Bill Will Spell a Death Sentence for Their Work” (Haaretz, 2/19/25

The U.S. Scene

• “CPAC resolution says US ‘supports Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria’ – exclusive” (The Jerusalem Post, 2/20/25)
• “Israeli settler violence: How the US undermined its own sanctions regime” (Middle East Eye, 2/21/25)
• “NYC real estate expo promoting sale of ‘stolen land’ in Palestine descends into violence” (Middle East Eye, 2/19/25)