The 'Israeli' settlement of Maale Adumim in the 'Israeli'-occupied West Bank.
'Israel' approves record West Bank settlement expansion in 2025
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- 'Israel' approves over 28,000 new settlement units in the West Bank in 2025, a record annual total.
- Expansion includes reestablishment of evacuated settlement and plans deep inside densely populated Palestinian areas.
The left-wing 'Israeli' organization Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, reported that 'Israel' approved the construction of more than 28,000 new settlement units in West Bank during 2025.
Read more: 'Israel's' security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank
Record Approvals
The Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Council approved 28,163 housing units since the beginning of the year, marking an unprecedented annual total. The council is currently reviewing plans for an additional 1,033 units across the West Bank.
Reestablishing Evacuated Settlements
Plans include 126 units in the evacuated settlement of Sanur. The 'Israeli' security cabinet approved its re-establishment in May 2025. Sanur was originally evacuated in 2005 as part of 'Israel’s' disengagement plan, which withdrew the military and dismantled settlements in Gaza.
Read more: 'Israel's' "Greater Jerusalem" engulfs heart of the West Bank
Expansion in Palestinian Areas
Peace Now highlighted that the expansion represents a return of settlement activity deep in the northern West Bank, in areas with high Palestinian population density where no settlements previously existed. Additional plans include 398 units in Yitzhar near Nablus in the north and 509 units in Asfar in the south.
These developments are likely to heighten tensions in the region, as settlement expansion remains one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli Occupation in Palestine.
