Netanyahu era sees 40% rise in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank: Report

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank face a 40% increase in settlement outposts under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, alongside a surge in settler violence and vandalism, known as “price tag” attacks, according to a recent report.

The Israeli Channel 12 television channel revealed on Friday that the West Bank has been witnessing a surge in Israeli settlements since the formation of Netanyahu’s cabinet at the end of 2022.

The number of settlements rose from 128 in the West Bank to 178, indicating an approximate increase of 40%, accompanied by unprecedented demolitions of Palestinian residences.

The report came just two days after 14 ministers from Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Party, together with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, signed a letter urging the Israeli premier to proceed with the immediate annexation of the occupied West Bank.

“The announcement of dozens of new settlements, the unprecedented pace of establishing illegal outposts, the construction of strategic roads, and the large-scale demolition of Palestinian buildings all aim to strengthen Jewish control over the area and effectively eliminate the [so-called] two-state solution,” the channel reported.

“No administration has ever encouraged settlement as much as this one,” Meir Deutsch, chairman of the far-right Regavim movement, was quoted as saying in the report.

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The report shows that a minimum of 50 new settlements have been declared in the West Bank following the establishment of the current Israeli administration.

“According to research data, 19 of the newly recognized settlements already exist, seven are currently grazing farms, 14 are neighborhoods in settlements, and 10 are settlements only on paper.”

Alongside the “establishment of dozens of new settlements, construction in existing settlements in the West Bank broke records in the past two and a half years, and even more so since early 2025,” the report added.

It explained that a total of 41,709 settler units have received approval, a figure that surpasses those documented during the six years prior to Netanyahu’s administration.

The report highlighted that the total count of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank reached 214 by the conclusion of 2024, with 66 of these being established amid the ongoing Israeli genocidal war against Gaza.

“Most of the illegal outposts established are farming outposts occupying vast areas, with grazing lands currently covering about 787 square kilometers, mostly in central and eastern West Bank.”

The report also noted that the escalation in settlement construction aligns with the surge in the population of illegal settlers.

Between 2013 and 2023, the number of settlers in the West Bank increased by 38%, rising from 374,000 to 517,000, based on data from the West Bank settlements council, Yesha.

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