SAFA- Less than three months before the Israeli elections, Israeli authorities have advanced three major settlement projects in occupied East Jerusalem within a matter of weeks, comprising more than 3,400 settlement units in Umm Tuba, Umm Lison, and the Gilo settlement.

According to a report published Monday by Ir Amim, the rapid advancement of the three plans at this time reflects an effort to impose new realities on the ground, potentially leaving the next Israeli government with settlement developments that would be difficult to reverse.

Over the past month, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee advanced a plan for a new settlement comprising approximately 650 units in Umm Tuba. It also approved the advancement of another plan for around 450 units in the heart of Umm Lison, in addition to advancing a plan to expand the Gilo settlement by more than 2,300 units.

Ir Amim said that, taken together, the projects would have consequences extending beyond the construction of thousands of additional settlement units. According to the organization, they would further fragment Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, strengthen Israeli control over the city, and make any future political settlement more difficult.

In Umm Tuba, the District Planning and Building Committee advanced a plan on August 7 for a new settlement called Nofei Rachel, comprising approximately 650 units on 27 dunams of land at the main entrance to the Palestinian neighborhood.

The project is backed by Australian businessman and settlement activist Kevin Bermeister. Ir Amim warned that its location could directly affect the movement of Umm Tuba residents and further restrict their mobility.

The organization also highlighted a stark disparity in planning policies within the neighborhood. While Israeli authorities restrict Palestinian construction and generally limit buildings to four stories, the new settlement plan would permit buildings of up to 14 stories.

In Umm Lison, the District Planning and Building Committee approved the advancement of a plan in early July for approximately 450 settlement units in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood.

After the project's initiators failed to meet the committee's infrastructure requirements, the Jerusalem Municipality formally joined the project as a co-submitter of the plan, allowing the planning process to proceed.

According to Ir Amim, this marks the first time the Jerusalem Municipality has formally participated in advancing a plan for a new settlement inside a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

At the end of July, the District Planning and Building Committee also advanced a plan to expand the Gilo settlement by more than 2,300 units across approximately 195 dunams.

According to Ir Amim's analysis, extending Gilo towards Route 60, alongside ongoing construction in Givat Hamatos and plans to expand Har Homa, could further advance the geographical separation of East Jerusalem from the Bethlehem area and the southern West Bank.

The Gilo plan includes land that Ir Amim says was confiscated from Palestinian owners under Israel's Absentees' Property Law and subsequently allocated for settlement expansion.

Ir Amim researcher Aviv Tatarsky said: “What is happening is not a series of separate planning decisions, but rather an integrated policy being implemented at a calculated time.”

He added that the Israeli government is “advancing, within a few weeks and shortly before the elections, three of the largest settlement projects in East Jerusalem,” arguing that it seeks to “impose new realities on the ground that reshape the city’s landscape, deepen its separation from the West Bank, and make any future political settlement more difficult.”

Tatarsky concluded that the current Israeli government “may be in its final days, but it is racing against time to leave behind a reality that will be extremely difficult to change.”