Israeli Government Advances De Facto Annexation in Occupied West Bank, Rights Groups Say

Israeli rights groups Peace Now and Kerem Navot said Israel has advanced “de facto annexation” of the occupied West Bank at an “unprecedented pace” since taking office in December 2022, reshaping control through structural governance changes, settlement expansion, retroactive authorization of outposts, land seizures and the expulsion of Palestinian communities.

“Israeli government ‘advanced de facto annexation at an unprecedented pace’ in occupied West Bank, rights groups say Israel advanced plans for 40,064 new settlement housing units over past 3 years, potentially enabling future growth of 160,000 to 200,000 occupiers, report says Lina Altawell 07 July 2026•Update: 07 July 2026 ISTANBUL Israel’s government has “advanced de facto annexation” of the occupied West Bank at an “unprecedented pace” since taking office in December 2022, according to a joint report by Peace Now and Kerem Navot”

Anadolu Ajansı

The joint report documented approval of more than 185 illegal settlement outposts, over 40,000 new housing units, and 102 new settlements, alongside 223 kilometres of roads built for settlers, while nearly 1,000 square kilometres of Palestinian land were seized and 118 Palestinian communities were forcibly displaced.

Anadolu Ajansı

WAFA and Peace Now said the report, titled “Annus Mirabilis: Actions by the Israeli Government to Annex the West Bank, 2023–2025,” concludes the measures form a single, systematic policy geared toward deepening Israeli control over the West Bank rather than isolated developments.

Anadolu Ajansı said the report described a key change as the transfer of broad civilian powers from the Civil Administration and the military chain of command to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Settlement Administration within the Defense Ministry.

WAFA said the report’s findings include “185 new outposts established” and “118 Palestinian shepherding communities and shepherding clusters expelled,” framing them as part of a unified annexation process.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that the IDF’s Central Command chief, Major General Avi Blot, signed an amended security order enabling the imposition of the death penalty in the West Bank, after a bill submitted by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party was approved by the Knesset.

In Katz’s statement, he said: "the containment phase is over," and added: "The perpetrators who kill Jews will not sit in prisons under comfortable conditions".

BBC

The BBC reported that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the step “violates international humanitarian law,” while Hamas described it as “a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of all international norms and laws.”

The BBC also said the United Nations urged Israel to take all necessary measures to prevent acts of “genocide” in Gaza, condemning indicators of “ethnic cleansing” in both the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

In the same BBC account, Volker Türk urged Israel to respect an order issued by the International Court of Justice in 2024, calling on it to take measures to prevent a “genocide” in Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s report described Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s strategy to redraw the West Bank’s map, saying he aimed to impose a geographic and political reality that would prevent the future establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Titled Annus Mirabilis: Actions by the Israeli Government to Annex the West Bank, 2023–2025, the report by Peace Now and Kerem Navot concludes that the Israeli government has advanced de facto annexation of the West Bank at an unprecedented pace, WAFA reported”

Middle East Eye

In Israel Hayom, Smotrich said the settlement project has sparked a “revolution” in the West Bank, and he described settler farms as “the tool that enables regional continuity,” while also saying the government is racing against time to regularize the status of outposts and settler farms before upcoming elections.

The report also cited Haaretz’s argument that what is happening goes beyond settlement expansion and represents an organized project to redraw the region’s political and geographic map, undermining the feasibility of implementing a two-state solution.

Separately, the BBC reported that Israeli forces intercepted the “Global Resilience Fleet” that sailed from Turkey last week carrying aid to Gaza, and said the fleet organizers wrote on X: "Our ships are currently being intercepted by naval forces; the Israeli army is boarding the first of our ships in broad daylight."

The BBC said the interception occurred off Cyprus, and it quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirming the interception of the “Fleet of Resilience” and praising the Israeli naval forces that carried out the operation, noting the “foiling of a hostile plot.”