Israel’s Security Cabinet Approves 13 New Settlements in Central Occupied West Bank

Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to establish 13 new settlements in the central occupied West Bank, with the first phase expected to begin in the coming months in the Binyamin regional council area.

The Jerusalem Governorate condemned the decision as “a dangerous escalation” and said the plan “seeks to create new geographical realities on the ground,” warning it would “undermine the prospects of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.”

Agence Media Palestine

Israeli media reported the Security Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gave the green light to new settler colonies in the Binyamin area, and critics said the goal was to cement Israeli control over the illegally occupied territory.

The New Arab reported that the cabinet endorsed construction on Thursday and said Israeli media expect an initial four to six settlements, while several existing settlement outposts are set to be legalised for state funding and infrastructure support.

Madar said construction of illegal Israeli settler outposts has risen from an average of 8 per year between 2012-22 to 32 in 2023, 62 in 2024, and 86 last year, as Palestinian officials and international human rights groups warned settlement expansion is eroding a two-state solution.

Palestinian officials warned that the expansion would deepen territorial fragmentation and further isolate occupied East Jerusalem, with the Jerusalem Governorate accusing Israel of seeking to link settlement blocs and restrict Palestinian territorial continuity.

The Jerusalem Governorate said the measures aim to “create new geographical realities on the ground” and “undermine the prospects of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state,” calling them “a dangerous escalation” and “violations of international law.”

Al Jazeera

Amir Daoud, the director of Publishing and Documentation at the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, told The New Arab that the move “should be viewed as part of a broader governmental strategy aimed to accelerating de facto annexation.”

Daoud added that the Binyamin expansion would “further fragment” Palestinian territory and increase military control over strategic transportation corridors, while placing additional pressure on nearby Palestinian villages through expanded security zones, road infrastructure, and settlement-related restrictions.

Common Dreams quoted the UK-based International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) saying the Security Cabinet vote represented “yet another example of the abhorrent and utter disregard of the international rules-based order by Israel.”

The plan’s reported funding and implementation details include investments worth around 1 billion shekels, with the first phase expected to begin in the coming months and an initial four to six settlements set for establishment.

The New Arab said the project would be backed by investments worth around 1 billion shekels and that it would focus on two key corridors: areas northwest of Jerusalem and west of Ramallah along Route 60, and territory stretching eastwards towards the Jordan Valley.

The Jerusalem Governorate warned that the acceleration of settlement activity is tied to domestic political calculations in Israel, particularly with Knesset elections approaching, and it called on the international community to intervene to halt settlement policies.

In parallel, the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies (Madar) reported that settlement outposts have accelerated markedly, with the annual average rising from eight outposts a year between 2012 and 2022 to 32 in 2023, 62 in 2024 and 86 in 2025.

Common Dreams said the ICJ found in 2024 that Israeli settler colonization of the West Bank amounts to annexation, also a crime under international law, and it warned the Binyamin plan would “create an irreversible status quo.”