SAFA – Israeli authorities are advancing 11 settlement plans across the occupied West Bank, covering hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land and providing for 895 new housing units, alongside industrial zones, commercial developments, and road networks.

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission revealed the plans on Saturday, warning that the projects threaten to accelerate settlement expansion, seize additional Palestinian land, and further fragment Palestinian communities.

The plans span the governorates of Qalqilya, Salfit, Nablus, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and Hebron, as well as the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Bethlehem.

According to the commission, the projects extend beyond residential construction. They also seek to strengthen settlement economies, expand infrastructure, and consolidate Israeli control over occupied Palestinian territory.

Settlement Expansion Threatens Farmland in Qalqilya and Salfit

In Qalqilya, one of the largest projects targets the Tzomet Vradim neighborhood of the Kedumim settlement, built on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum.

The plan covers 158.4 dunams and provides for 363 housing units, including 288 additional units, alongside new roads and zoning changes.

Two other plans would increase permitted building density on industrial plots covering 17.347 dunams in the Karnei Shomron settlement, while another would rezone land in Oranit to double its residential capacity.

In Salfit, a plan for the Ariel settlement would introduce 98 housing units across 61.495 dunams, converting agricultural and open land into residential areas, roads, and public facilities.

Another proposal would modify building boundaries across more than 405 dunams within Ariel, while a separate plan would adjust construction limits in the Peduel settlement.

Hundreds of Housing Units Planned in Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron

In the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, a 65.1-dunam plan for the Talmon settlement provides for 288 housing units, including 200 additional units, alongside roads and public facilities.

In Nablus, a project in the Elon Moreh settlement would cover nearly 25 dunams, providing for 83 housing units, roads, and public spaces.

Further south, the Beit Hagai settlement near Hebron is slated for 225 housing units across approximately 189.5 dunams.

In Kiryat Arba, another plan would convert 165.8 dunams of agricultural land into a commercial and light-industrial area featuring workshops, retail facilities, and roads.

Meanwhile, a planning amendment affecting the Gush Etzion settlement bloc would permit commercial activity on up to 20% of designated public-building areas and allow cafes, kiosks, and infrastructure within certain open spaces.

Settlement Plans Threaten Palestinian Communities and Territorial Continuity

The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission warned that the 11 plans form part of a broader effort to consolidate Israeli settlements and reshape the geography of the occupied West Bank.

New housing developments, industrial facilities, and road networks strengthen the physical and economic infrastructure of settlements while placing additional pressure on Palestinian farmland and surrounding communities.

The expansion also threatens to restrict the natural growth of Palestinian towns, fragment their territorial connections, and undermine residents' access to land and livelihoods.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law, a position reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice in its July 2024 advisory opinion.

For Palestinian communities, the consequences extend far beyond the construction of new homes for settlers. The plans threaten further loss of land, reduced access to agricultural resources, and the continued erosion of Palestinians' rights to their territory and self-determination.