ARIJ Institute: More than 26,000 New Settlement Units

SadaNews - The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) revealed that the Israeli occupation authorities have proposed plans for the construction of more than 26,000 new settlement units in the Israeli settlements illegally established on occupied West Bank land, over an area exceeding 30,000 dunams of Palestinian land.

The institute added in its report today, Thursday, that the number of proposed plans since the beginning of 2025 until the end of October has reached 194 settlement plans, most of which are concentrated in the occupied Jerusalem governorate, which is considered one of the largest expansion operations compared to recent years.

The analysis prepared by the institute shows that the announced settlement plans specifically focus on expanding Israeli settlements around the occupied East Jerusalem, with the settlements "Maale Adumim" established on the citizens' lands east of the city and "Givat Ze'ev" northwest of it, emerging as the main settlements targeted by the expansion plans, in a clear attempt by the occupation authorities to impose a new demographic reality through the expansion of construction and seizure of large areas of Palestinian land.

It was pointed out that according to the plans, 22 settlement plans for construction were issued in the settlement of "Givat Ze'ev", in addition to 16 plans for construction in the settlement of "Maale Adumim", including two plans designated for the "E1" area.

In the Bethlehem governorate, the most targeted settlements were: Beitar Illit with 17 plans, Efrat with 14 plans, and Maale Amos with 5 plans.

In the Nablus governorate, the vast majority of the expansion plans were directed towards the settlements of 'Ai at-Tawil and Alon Moreh with 7 and 3 plans respectively.

In the Ramallah governorate, the expansion plans included the settlements of Modiin Illit, Beit Arie-Oferim, and Rimonim, while in the Salfit governorate, the largest share of plans was for the settlement of Ariel, in addition to the settlements of Itamar, Bidoil, and Barkan Industrial.

The institute confirmed that Israeli colonization in the Palestinian territories is a blatant violation of international law and illegal under international law, as Article (49) of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 states that "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territories it occupies".

Based on that, every colonial activity, including the transfer of settlers or the construction of settlement units or the seizure of land for expansion purposes, constitutes a clear and blatant violation of this convention.

Furthermore, Security Council Resolution (2334) of 2016 affirmed that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, "lack any legal legitimacy and constitute a flagrant violation of international law, and a major obstacle to achieving the two-state solution and establishing just and lasting peace".

The institute emphasized that while the occupation authorities implement colonial projects through the seizure of private and public Palestinian lands under various pretexts, they continue their policies of displacement and demolition of Palestinian homes.

The continuation of colonial construction in the occupied Palestinian territories undermines the chances of establishing a geographically connected and viable Palestinian state, making the implementation of any peace agreement based on the principle of the two-state solution impossible.

It was noted that colonial construction contributes to fragmenting Palestinian villages and cities, as it does not only involve urban construction, but also includes infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, communication networks, and others, in addition to Israeli industrial areas that negatively impact the Palestinian environment, where waste generated from these Israeli industrial areas is disposed of in the occupied West Bank territory.