Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering major news on Israeli settlement and annexation activity this week.
To subscribe to this report, please click here.
February 7, 2025
- East Jerusalem Settlement Plans to Watch
- Israel Pushing Raze Palestinian Homes in Sheikh Jarrah, Build New Settlement Enclave
- High Court Orders Zanuta Return, Again
- High Court Orders Investigation Into Settler Municipal Councils
- Settler Population Grew 2.3% in 2024
- Trump to Decide on West Bank Annexation In Four Weeks
- Bonus Reads
East Jerusalem Settlement Plans to Watch
Haaretz reports that, with Trump installed in office, the Israeli government is pushing forward at least three settlement plans in the greater Jerusalem area:
- Atarot Settlement – see background here.
- Givat Hamatos settlement expansion towards Beit Safafa – see background here.
- The Glassman Yeshiva plan for Sheikh Jarrah – see background here.
- A settlement enclave plan in Sheikh Jarrah (See below)
Israel Pushing Raze Palestinian Homes in Sheikh Jarrah, Build New Settlement Enclave
Haaretz reports the Jerusalem Municipality is advancing plans for the construction of a new settlement enclave – composed of 312 residential units in 15 buildings – in the heart of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. If enacted, the plan will displace dozens of Palestinian families in the Um Haroun section of the community, destroying approximately 40 buildings, in favor of Israeli Jews.
East Jerusalem expert Danny Seideman writes:
“For the first time since 1967, the Government of Israel intends to raze a Palestinian [neighborhood] in East Jerusalem, displace its residents and build an Israeli settlement in its stead. This is without precedent.”
The land in question was secretly brought under the management of the Israeli General Custodian, a clandestine effort that was discovered in May 2021 by Ir Amim and Bimkom. The land registration procedures were carried out without notifying Palestinian residents or providing an opportunity to defend ownership claims. Legal efforts to halt Israel’s registration of the lands were denied.
Ir Amim researcher Aviv Tatarsky told Haaretz:
“The plan is part of a racist policy aimed at establishing Jewish supremacy in the city and pushing out its Palestinian residents. The new plan being promoted by the government is nothing but a calculated assault on Palestinian presence in Jerusalem. It aims to erase an entire neighborhood and turn it into a settler outpost.”
High Court Orders Zanuta Return, Again
For the second time, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the State of Israel to facilitate the safe return of residents to their homes in Zanuta, located in the South Hebron Hills, by February 16th. Residents of Zanuta have been forced to flee from their homes twice now, both times due to the persistent violent harassment and attacks perpetrated by nearby settlers. In the most recent ruling, the Court ordered that Israeli police and the army must provide ongoing and sustained protection to the residents, and the Court ruled the State must allow residents to repair homes and infrastructure that were damaged/demolished by settlers when the residents were absent. In the past, the State tried to coerce residents into permanently abandoning Zanuta by refusing to issue new permits and to carry out demolitions against the remaining buildings that did not already have permits.
The villagers first left in November 2023 after violence escalated dramatically following the events of October 7th. In July 2024 the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that the State of Israel must facilitate their safe return to the land. Villagers started returning to the area in August 2024 to discover that in the intervening months, settlers have been allowed to enter the area and destroy nearly all of the houses, the small school, and the village’s health clinic. The village appeared ransacked. Only days after their initial return, the village was attacked by Yinon Levy (a settler under international sanctions for his involvement in violence) while the Israeli police and army watched.
High Court Orders Investigation Into Settler Municipal Councils
On February 4th, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered Israeli police to open a criminal investigation into the involvement of two settlement regional councils in the illegal construction of outposts. The Court made this ruling in response to petitions filed by Peace Now, which documented the alleged involvement of the settlement councils in constructing three outposts: Shvut Rachel, Haroeh, and Alonei Shiloh. Since the petition was filed in 2018 the Shvut Rachel outpost has been granted retroactive legalization by the Israeli government; and, the Alonei Shiloh outpost is in the process of receiving retroactive legalization.
Settler Population Grew 2.3% in 2024
According to data compiled by the pro-settlement advocacy group “West Bank Stats”, the population of settlers in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem) rose by 2.3% in 2024 – 12,000 individuals. The 2023 growth rate was 2.9%.
The group’s founder, Baruch Gordon, told ABC News that he expects “an explosion in [settlement] construction” during the Trump Administration.
Trump to Decide on West Bank Annexation In Four Weeks
At a press conference on February 4th alongside Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump said he will announce whether or not his administration will support Israel’s de jure annexation of the West Bank in four weeks. When asked a question by a reporter who stated their support for annexation, President Trump said:
“We’re discussing that with many of your representatives. You’re represented very well… [but] we haven’t been taking a position on it yet…People do like the idea, but we haven’t taken a position on it yet. We’ll be making an announcement probably on that very specific topic over the next four weeks.”
Trump has appointed many officials in his administration who strongly support Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, including his nomination for U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and the newly appointed Ambassador to the UN, Elise Stefanik.
During Trump’s election campaign, Miriam Adelson – who donated $100 million to Trump’s effort – reportedly conditioned her funding on Trump’s pledge to support West Bank annexation, though a spokesperson for Adelson denied the report.
Bonus Reads
- “NGOs, Trade Unions, Call on EU to Ban Trade with Israel’s Illegal Settlements” (Human Rights Watch)
- “As part of West Bank offensive, Israel conducts largest demolition in years” (Mondoweiss)
- “Curfews, demolitions and airstrikes: Israel expands West Bank offensive to Tulkarem, Jordan Valley” (Mondoweiss)
- “Israeli Settler Indicted After Opening Fire on Palestinian Family Harvesting Olives in the West Bank” (Haaretz)
- “West Bank? No, Judea and Samaria, Some Republicans Say.” (New York Times)
- “What Just Happened: Trump’s Termination of West Bank Settler Sanctions” (Just Security)
- “Trump’s Gaza plan suggests his pro-settler advisers are in the ascendant” (The Guardian)