the West Bank is home to 2.7 million Palestinians and is considered the cornerstone of any Palestinian state and the center of the conflict in the coming phase. However, many believe that Israel has effectively and clearly annexed the West Bank, and all that remains is for it to officially announce this annexation. With each passing day, new steps and decisions are taken to consolidate the annexation of the West Bank through escalating settler violence and attacks and through new decisions by the Israeli government to build new settlement units. The latest of these decisions was Israel’s approval of the establishment of 19 new settlements.
even at the official level,in a blatant challenge to international law and U.N. resolutions affirming the illegality of settlements, the Israeli Knesset voted in a preliminary reading on a bill to annex the West Bank as well as the Ma’ale Adumim settlement east of Jerusalem. The attempt to legitimize this process is perhaps one of the moast critically importent indicators of the start of a major expansionist settlement phase to integrate these areas directly into the State of Israel.
Indicators of settlement expansion in the last year have reached their highest level since 2017, with more than 47,000 settlement units approved, compared to 26,000 settlement units in 2024. The average number of settlements between 2017 and 2022 was around 12,000 settlement units per year, indicating a quantitative and qualitative increase in settlement operations in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The primary goal of settlement is to prevent the establishment of any Palestinian state in the West Bank. In this context, the Israeli government has built tens of thousands of units in existing settlements and 22 new settlements, in addition to the E1 project which connects the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to Jerusalem, separates the north from the south, and effectively eliminates any continuity in the geography of the Palestinian state in the West Bank.
One of the most notable steps taken in this context is the establishment of settlements in areas that were evacuated in 2005 under a withdrawal plan overseen at the time by former Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon, which saw the withdrawal of 21 israeli settlements in Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank. It is indeed clear that the West Bank has been fragmented through settlement,Palestinian cities and towns have been isolated from each othre,and the demolition of homes and confiscation of land have intensified in more than one area of the West Bank.
Settler violence
The situation is not limited to increased illegal construction. israeli settlers, supported by the Israeli army, have increased their attacks on Palestinian civilians, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians. Israeli settlers carry out no fewer than 200 attacks on Palestinians every month. These attacks increase every year,especially during the olive harvest season. Nearly 800 attacks by settlers on Palestinians were recorded in the first half of 2025, which is 13% higher than the same period in 2024. The Israeli occupation and settlers have killed 42 children in the West Bank since November 2025 alone.
More than 3,200 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence and restrictions on Palestinian movement.
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