Groups of settlers, today, Monday, established a new settlement outpost in the Al-Auja area, located north of the city of Jericho, as part of a frantic escalation of land seizure operations in the occupied West Bank. Human rights sources reported that settlers have begun extensive bulldozing work with the aim of imposing a new colonial reality in the vital area of the Palestinian Jordan Valley.
Hassan Melhem, supervisor of the Al-Baydar Human Rights Organization, confirmed that the Al-Auja area has become surrounded by seven pastoral settlement outposts, which are used as strategic tools to restrict and displace Palestinian citizens. Melhem pointed out that these moves threaten the Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley area, as the occupation seeks to cut geographical communication and transform the lands into areas of influence for settlers.
In a related context, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission revealed that the occupation authorities intend to approve the construction of 2721 new settlement units in several settlements established on West Bank lands. The so-called 'Higher Planning Council' of the Civil Administration is scheduled to hold a session next Wednesday to discuss this wide package of settlement plans.
The new plans include a significant structural expansion, as 1006 housing units will be allocated to the 'Gvaot' settlement, located west of Bethlehem. This step aims to consecrate 'Gvaot' as a completely independent settlement after it was administratively separated from the 'Alon Shvut' settlement earlier this year, which strengthens the settlement infrastructure in the southern West Bank.
The proposed settlement maps also included the construction of 922 housing units in the 'Har Bracha' settlement, located on citizens' lands south of Nablus, in addition to 455 units in the 'Mevo Dotan' settlement west of Jenin. Through these expansions, the occupation seeks to intensify the settlement presence in the northern West Bank and connect the settlement blocs to each other.
In the southern West Bank, the occupation plans to build 234 new settlement units in the 'Kiryat Arba' settlement, established on the lands of Hebron, along with amendments to building regulations and changes in land use in other settlements. Official sources stated that these measures aim to complete the legal and planning structure of the settlement project in parallel with the field urban expansion.
The Wall Resistance Commission warned that these plans represent an extension of the 'creeping annexation' policy pursued by the current Israeli government, which aims to undermine any opportunity for the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state. The commission explained that the intensification of settlement at this stage aims to isolate Palestinian communities and turn them into enclaves surrounded by settlements.
Statistical data indicate the presence of about 542 settlement facilities in the West Bank, distributed among 192 settlements and 350 settlement outposts, inhabited by more than 780,000 settlers. The period after October 2023 witnessed an unprecedented boom in the establishment of random outposts, with 165 new outposts being established, 59 of which have been established since the beginning of 2025.
These expansions coincide with an escalation in the pace of field attacks carried out by settlers with direct protection from the occupation army, especially in rural and Bedouin areas. Many of these outposts have become launching points for organized attacks targeting Palestinian property and farms, leading to the displacement of thousands of citizens from their Bedouin and village communities.
Regarding human losses, Palestinian institutions recorded the martyrdom of 1168 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the genocide war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023. More than 12,000 citizens were also injured, and nearly 23,000 others were arrested, amid harsh conditions experienced by West Bank cities and camps due to continuous incursions, economic and field siege.
These plans reflect the occupation authorities' continued imposition of new realities on Palestinian land, through the expansion of existing settlements and the creation of new settlement centers.
شارك برأيك
New settlement outpost in Al-Auja and a plan to build 2721 housing units in the West Bank