Israel's Security Cabinet on Thursday approved a plan to establish 13 new illegal settlements in the central occupied West Bank, prompting Palestinian officials to warn that the move would further fragment the territory and isolate occupied East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.
Israel's Channel 7 reported that the Cabinet approved the construction of the settlements in the Binyamin regional area, with the first phase expected to begin in the coming months.
According to the report, the Binyamin Regional Council plans to launch the initial phase by establishing between four and six new settlements, backed by investments worth millions of shekels, or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Palestine’s Jerusalem Governorate condemned the decision, saying it forms part of a broader Israeli policy aimed at severing occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, the governorate said the plan seeks to create "new geographical realities on the ground", particularly in areas northwest of Jerusalem, west of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorates, and along the eastern slopes towards the Jordan Valley.
The initial phase would include the construction of four to six new settlements and the legalisation of several existing settlement outposts by providing them with government funding and infrastructure, it added.
‘Israel is aiming to fragment and isolate East Jerusalem’
The governorate linked the acceleration of illegal settlement projects to Israel's domestic political considerations ahead of forthcoming elections.
It warned that the expansion plans represent "a dangerous escalation" aimed at tightening Israeli control over Palestinian land, fragmenting the occupied West Bank and isolating East Jerusalem, thereby undermining prospects for a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.
Describing the measures as violations of international law and relevant international resolutions, the governorate called on the international community to intervene to halt Israeli settlement policies.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies (Madar) said settlement outposts have expanded at an unprecedented pace in recent years, with the annual average rising from eight between 2012 and 2022 to 32 in 2023, 62 in 2024, and 86 in 2025.
