Report: The Occupation Government Imposes New Colonial Facts That Undermine the Chances of a Palestinian State

SadaNews - A report prepared by the National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance to Settlement stated that the Israeli occupation government continues to work covertly, in an effort to impose new colonial realities on the ground that undermine the chances of establishing a Palestinian state, at a time when the West Bank governorates are witnessing an unprecedented escalation in the pace of colonialism.

The office added in its weekly settlement report published today, Saturday, that this trend is led by the Minister of Finance in the occupation government, Bezalel Smotrich, with full support from Benjamin Netanyahu, coinciding with the approach of the Israeli legislative elections.

Reports revealed that the "Security Cabinet" decided, on April 9th of this month, in a secret manner, to establish 34 new settlements, based on a previous decision issued at the beginning of the same month.

Data indicates that the government refrained from announcing the decision at the time to avoid potential reactions from the U.S. administration during the war with Iran, before announcing it following the ceasefire agreement.

This points to what reports mentioned about the cabinet meeting, which was described as the "red flags meeting," where Israeli army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, warned of the possibility of the army's ability to carry out its tasks declining amid the rapid expansion of colonialism and the rise in settler violence. He expressed opposition to plans to establish new settlements, based on security considerations related to the increasing burden of protecting a large number of outposts scattered in the West Bank.

This expansion comes with clear support from Smotrich, and explicit backing from Netanyahu, within a political context coinciding with the upcoming Israeli legislative elections.

The report clarifies that the 34 settlements approved are in addition to 68 settlements that the occupation government had decided to establish since it took office, bringing the total number to 102 settlements.

Adding these settlements represents an 80% increase compared to what existed before the formation of the current government.

A report from the international channel (i24 News), which is considered Israel's voice abroad and works to improve Israel's image as the "Iron Dome" against the global press, refers to 103 settlements. This is likely due to the approval of the "Givat Harel" settlement twice, once as a joint settlement with "Givat Haroeh," and another time independently.

This government decision was not officially published, meaning that the available information is based solely on media reports and statements by Smotrich.

According to the detailed list published by Yinon Yitah on the i24news international channel, of the 34 settlements, there are 10 outposts that will be regularized, meaning they will be legalized, all of which are in area (C).

The list of the 34 settlements approved by the Israeli cabinet on 1/4/2026 is distributed among the Palestinian governorates as follows: six in Jenin governorate, namely: Aloni Shomron, Rom Jalboun, Emek Dotan, Mayanot, Noya, and Tanash; six in Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, namely: Zubda, Mavot Yeshua, Ne'ot Harim, Ramotaim Tsufim, Netof, and Yeshof Had'at; and five in Hebron governorate, namely: Ma'aleh Anav, Metav Yair, Karmi Tzion, Migdad, and Gad Netan. There are six in Bethlehem governorate: Matzot Har, Shezaf, Metav Darja, Gevaot Adulam, Ma'aleh Arughut; and in Jericho governorate, there are four: Beit Zohar, Elisha, Zori, and Dayya; in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, six: Hiota, Mif'o Tirza, Mif'o Hashimish, Roshash, Givurai David and a settlement in Salfit governorate, Zivlon, one in Nablus governorate, Zofnat, and one in Tulkarm governorate, Novy.

Smotrich described the decision as a "historic achievement" for the government, by recognizing these new settlements and granting them licenses, stating that it will continue to build, "to thwart any idea of establishing an Arab state in the West Bank" – according to his words.

The Hebrew channel seven reported that Smotrich stated that the government has, in the last four months, managed to recognize the establishment of these new settlements, regularize dozens of outposts, and he spoke of a great achievement and the result of painstaking work over the past months.

Peace Now commented on this, saying: "The government has entered a state of frenzy before the elections, seeking to impose as many facts on the ground as possible and leaving Israel with a scorched earth policy. It is now clear to everyone – and the Israeli army repeatedly confirms this – that establishing settlements harms security, places an unprecedented burden on the army, and undermines the possibility of resolving the conflict and achieving any security and peace in the future."

In this context, the occupation forces notified on April 12th to seize areas of land in the hotel village south of Jenin for military purposes.

The notification included approximately 8,950 square meters of village land in the area near the "Trisla" settlement that the occupation is rebuilding, located north of the village on the main road, adjacent to the lands of the towns of Ajja and Jaba'an, south of Jenin, which are planted with olive trees.

This step comes in the context of the land seizure policy and the colonial expansion pursued by the occupation authorities in the West Bank, which is accompanied by strict restrictions on citizens and preventing them from accessing their lands.

At the same time, last Tuesday, the occupation bulldozers began extensive leveling work in agricultural lands north of Salfit city, which included uprooting dozens of ancient olive trees.

Salfit municipality reported that the occupation mechanisms started damaging and leveling agricultural land and uprooting olive trees, under the pretext of using them for military purposes, which threatens the livelihoods of dozens of families and causes significant damage to the agricultural sector in the region.

The targeted area is estimated at about 150 dunams, planted with more than 600 ancient olive trees.

This attack is part of a series of ongoing violations targeting agricultural lands in Salfit governorate in light of the escalating policies aiming to control more land and impose a new reality on the ground.

At the same time, the occupation forces continue to close the main entrances to the towns and villages of the governorate, including: the entrances to the village of Zawiya, preventing vehicle movement and entry and exit, forcing residents to travel on foot or take long and arduous detours, draining time and effort and imposing additional costs on them, as part of a collective punishment policy at a time when citizens' suffering from settler practices is escalating unprecedentedly.

On the outskirts of the northern Jordan Valley as well, the situation in the village of Tyasireh, east of Tubas, is no longer as it used to be; with the establishment of a grazing outpost between the village and the village of Aqaba, daily attacks have escalated and access to agricultural lands has been restricted after settlers established this outpost near citizens' homes, before moving it to an area between Tyasireh and Aqaba in area classified as "C".

The new outpost, which began with one tent, quickly expanded to include several tents and a flock of sheep, along with repeated attacks targeting farmers and their plastic houses, making access to the lands fraught with danger, especially in the nearby mountainous areas.

According to the report, the location of the outpost between Tyasireh and Aqaba is not random, but comes within a broader plan to control the area. The outpost was established in an area that serves as a link between three Palestinian gatherings: Tyasireh, Aqaba, and Khirbat Ibzeiq, meaning that it could lead to severing the geographical connection between them, in addition to controlling about 600 dunams of agricultural land in an area located within the northern extension of the Malih Valley, which is witnessing increasing ambitions, accompanied by surrounding 14,000 dunams of land and controlling water springs, including: the Malih water spring, the Sakout spring, the Auja spring, and others.

Attacks are not limited to the residents but also include journalists. The crew of the American "CNN" network was attacked by occupation soldiers while covering the establishment of the outpost, and filmed scenes showed soldiers demanding the crew to stop filming, amid behavior described as violent.

The report pointed out that what is happening in Tyasireh reflects a broader policy in the northern Jordan Valley, which is based on creating an environment that repels Palestinian residents through continuous restriction and repeated attacks.

With the declining ability to access lands and the increasing daily dangers, residents fear that these conditions will lead them to be forced to leave their areas, in what is known as "silent displacement."

Last week, young man Ala Khaled Sabih was martyred during an attack by settlers on the village of Tyasireh, which involved clashes and incursions.

This coincided with a widespread escalation in the West Bank (which included the kidnapping of child Aysid Mahmoud Ghanem (14 years old) from the town of Qabalan south of Nablus, who was taken to one of the settlements), multiple attacks, alongside Israeli incursions and sporadic injuries and arrests.

The Israeli public broadcasting authority ("Kan 11") reported that the settler who killed martyr Sabih is a member of the occupation army, who "was on leave and was present there," indicating the involvement of the Israeli army and its provision of protection for the terrorist attacks against the citizens.

The "Hilltop Youth" terrorist group reported in a report last February that documented the crimes it committed against Palestinian citizens starting from the colonial outposts, which it established with the support and protection of the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Ben Gvir government.

The terrorist groups in the "Hilltop Youth" bragged that in one month (February), they burned 12 inhabited homes, burned 29 vehicles, attacked 33 villages, with the village of Makhmas receiving a significant share of this (five attacks), smashed hundreds of windows of houses and cars, and uprooted hundreds of trees, especially ancient olive trees, all coordinated with the occupation authorities.

On another level, the "Meta" network, a digital services company primarily focused on social media, including: "Facebook," provides services to settlers in the occupied West Bank, enabling far-right Israeli pages and related entities to make financial profits through its platforms, despite posting violent and inciting content against Palestinians.

A report from the Arab Center for Social Media Development reveals that the network's role is not limited to its failure to remove violent content against Palestinians or reduce its spread, but extends to financial support through profit-making programs, providing an incentive for the continuation of violence and incitement speech in violation of the company's own policies and the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights, in addition to contradicting international humanitarian law and human rights law. The report reviewed a sample of right-wing Israeli pages and accounts benefiting from Meta's programs, including pages linked to the colonial movement, accounts of extremist figures, and well-known Israeli media with an incitement discourse, alongside pages belonging to government entities that should be excluded from monetization, and documented the publication of these pages of content promoting outposts, justifying settler violence, mocking Palestinian victims, and calling for their displacement.