Israel Approves 13 New Settlements to Solidify West Bank Control

The project, centered in the Binyamin area, received the green light under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration. Local officials within the Binyamin Regional Council framed the development as a strategic necessity, aimed at establishing irreversible facts on the ground. For the Jerusalem Governorate, the decision represents a dangerous escalation that effectively dismantles the viability of a two-state solution.

The policy aligns with public commitments from senior Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who have openly advocated for the annexation of the territory. According to the International Center of Justice for Palestinians, the move is part of a broader, long-standing strategy to entrench permanent control. Data from the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies highlights a sharp surge in such projects, with illegal outposts rising from an annual average of eight between 2012 and 2022 to 86 in the last year alone.

International bodies have repeatedly challenged the legality of these actions. In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that the settlement enterprise constitutes an illegal form of apartheid and a de facto annexation. Since October 2023, the pace of expansion has intensified alongside violence in the region, where the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that 1,105 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.