Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.
April 24, 2026
- EAST JERUSALEM: Yeshiva Approved in Sheikh Jarrah, Land Registration
- WEST BANK: Settlers Move Into Sa-Nur, U.S. Backs Settlement Frenzy, New OCHA Map
- GAZA
- LEBANON
- STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM
- BONUS READS
EAST JERUSALEM
Israel Approves Yeshiva in Sheikh Jarrah
On April 20th, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee approved a plan to build an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva and dormitory complex (called the Glassman Yeshiva, or “Ohr Somayach”) at the entrance to the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Ir Amim reports, “if implemented, the plan would significantly increase the settler presence in the neighborhood, raise security concerns for Palestinian residents, and further alter the character of the space.
The plan calls for the construction of an 11-story building (3 stories below ground) which will include a religious school and dormitories for students and faculty. There are several settler enclaves in Sheikh Jarrah currently, while Palestinians are facing concerted eviction efforts by settlers and the government.
The yeshiva is slated to be built on a patch of land that was expropriated from Palestinian owners for “public needs”; in 2007 the land was transferred by the Israeli government to the Ohr Somayach Institutions, an international organization which is promoting the yeshiva plan. Ir Amim reports that in 2023, the Ohr Somayach Institutions received over 6 million NIS from its U.S. branch and its donors.
Ir Amim says:
“…The resumed advancement of this plan should be seen in the larger context of heightened efforts to expand Israeli settlement in the neighborhood and displace its Palestinian residents. This includes ongoing eviction threats against Palestinian families and advancement of new settlement plans under the guise of “urban renewal” for Umm Haroun and the Menachem Begin complex in northern Sheikh Jarrah. Urban renewal plans entail the demolition of existing structures and the construction of new buildings in their place. This mechanism is being exploited by the state and settler groups to circumvent the protections afforded to Palestinian residents under protected tenancy and evict entire families in one fell swoop for the establishment of Jewish settlements.
Together, these measures create an ever-increasing stranglehold on Sheikh Jarrah marked by heightened displacement and dispossession of the local Palestinian community. Instead of remaining a vibrant Palestinian neighborhood, it risks becoming a fragmented enclave punctuated by major Israeli settlements that sever the center of East Jerusalem from the Old City and its northern areas.”
East Jerusalem Land Registration
Jewish Currents published a detailed look at what Israel’s campaign to register land in East Jerusalem looks like, and the role the Jewish National Fund is playing (in concert with the Israeli government) to seize land from Palestinians and give it to Israeli settlers.
The article concludes:
“As SOLT spreads across East Jerusalem and the West Bank, it continues to undermine and endanger what is left of historic Palestine. And while some Palestinians are boycotting the SOLT process, most residents know that registration will go on regardless of whether they participate, and that if they do not make a claim, they will likely be expelled. The Abu Tairs share this knowledge, along with a commitment to stay: Abid is erecting new buildings behind his house for his children’s families and relatives returning from abroad, and he promises “no one is going anywhere.” But they are not optimistic. “We’ll be kicked out, that’s what we expect,” Abid said. But, he added, “we’ll have to be dragged out of our houses to leave. Who’s going to leave? Where would we go?”
WEST BANK
Settlers Move Into Sa-Nur Settlement
On April 19th, several Israeli Ministers attended a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the reestablishment of the Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank. The Israeli government has approved the construction of 126 settlement units, and this week 16 Israeli families, including the family of Yesha Council chairman Yossi Dagan, moved into mobile homes in the settlement. The Sa-Nur settlement – located southwest of the Palestinian city of Jenin – was dismantled by the Israeli government in 2006 as part of a larger Disengagement Plan signed by the Sharon government.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who also serves as Minister in the Defense Ministry) said at the event:
“On this moving day, we are honored to make a historic correction to the sinful expulsion from northern Samaria…We are abolishing the disgrace of expulsion, killing the idea of the Palestinian state, and returning to the settlement of Sa-Nur. This is a day of celebration for the settlement movement and a national holiday for the State of Israel.”
Smotrich Says Settlement Expansion Has Full U.S. Support
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told The Jerusalem Post that the U.S. Trump Administration has given “full coordination and full backing for everything related to construction, regulation, and security in the West Bank.” Smotrich further said that Trump had not yet given U.S. support for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, but that he hoped “we will also succeed in that.”
Peace Now reports that since the beginning of 2025, when Trump came into office, Israel has advanced a total of 27,941 new settlement units – an all time record. The Netanyahu government, since coming into power in 2023, Israel has established 102 new settlements (many of which were outposts), increasing the total number of settlements by 80%.
New OCHA Map of West Bank Movement Barriers
OCHA release a new fact sheet and an updated West Bank Access Restrictions Map (PDF | Interactive), showing:
- 925 obstacles across the West Bank (the highest number on OCHA’s 20-year record)
- At least 459 obstacles block or hinder access to main roads
- Over 120 new road gates installed in 2025 (standalone or as part of checkpoints)
- The 712-km-long Barrier (64% built) remains the single largest obstacle
- 3.4 million Palestinians affected
The new map is based on December 2025 fieldwork.
ANNEXATION OF GAZA
Israel is de-facto annexing huge parts of the Gaza Strip via its ever-creeping installation of a new boundary there – called “The Yellow Line.” At the same time, Israeli politicians and settlers continue to call for outright and total annexation, and the establishment of settlements there.
At an event on April 19th, Bezalel Smotrich said:
“I call on the prime minister to order the IDF to prepare immediately for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip, to establish Israeli control over all the territory of the Strip, and to establish Israeli settlement in it. Without settlement, there will be no security. For a hundred years it has been proven – where the plow passes, the border and security follow. The war must end in an expansion of the State of Israel’s borders.”
On April 22nd, the Nachala settler group organized a 2,000-person march demanding Israel’s annexation of Gaza and construction of Israeli settlements.
ANNEXATION OF LEBANON
In its war on Iran and Lebanon, Israel has invaded southern Lebanon and appears intent to annex large swathes of Lebanese territory south of the Litani River – area which Israel has invaded, bombed, and forced residents to leave.
On April 22nd, a group of Israeli settlers crossed into Lebanon and Syria, calling on the government to annex the areas and establish Israeli civilian settlements there.The group which organized the incursion, called Uri Tzafon (“Awaken Norht”), has previously led illegal crossings into Lebanon, even planting trees in the past. The group said:
“We reiterate our call for true independence and full sovereignty of the State of Israel in southern Lebanon – up to the Litani River and beyond.”
For more on Israel’s history with Lebanon, check out a new FMEP podcast, “The Roots of Israel’s Aggression Against Lebanon” featuring FMEP fellow Peter Beinart in conversation with Bard College Professor Ziad Abu-Rish about the roots of Israel’s aggression against Lebanon.
STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM
In its April 23rd update, OCHA reports that Israeli settlers have committed at least 680 attacks on Palestinians in over 200 communities — a wild average of six attacks per day. As a result, at least settlers have been directly involved in the killing of 24 Palestinians this year.
Key attacks over the past week include:
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- Al Mughayyir: On April 21st, settlers attacked the village, opening fire towards the a school. Two Palestinians were killed by settler fire, one of which was a 14-year old child at the school. Al-Mughayir is attacked by settlers on a near daily basis.
- Beith Imrin: On April 21st, settlers attacked and set fire to care and buildings – injuring at least eigh Palestinian in the attack.
- Deir Dibwan: On 22 April, Israeli settlers shot and killed a Palestinian man during a settler attack on the village of Deir Dibwan, located near Ramallah.
- Halhul: OCHA reports dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were working on their land near Halhul. The IDF arrived at the scene and declared the area a closed military zone, and detained about 120 Palestinians.
- Qusra: On April 24th, settlers attacked the village of Qusra in the northern West Bank. Settlers threw stones and set fire to property using molotov cocktails.
In addition, settlers built a barb wire fence to prevent children in the Umm al-Khair community of the South Hebron Hills from going to the school in a neighboring community.
BONUS READS
- “In the West Bank, Israeli settlers who commit crimes enjoy total impunity” (Le Monde, 4/17/2026)
- “Brief, arbitrary abductions: A new tool of Israeli intimidation in Masafer Yatta” (+972 Magazine, 4/15/2026)