How Israel is expanding settlements in drive to reshape West Bank

It was during a ceremony at a settlement in the occupied West Bank last September that Israel's prime minister made his intentions clear. "We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state," said Benjamin Netanyahu. "This place belongs to us." He was signing an agreement to push ahead with the expansion of a settlement in an area known as E1, just to the east of Jerusalem.

In recent days, the opening up of tenders for the building work of some 1,200 settlement homes on the strategically important land has brought widespread condemnation.

Key Analysis and Detailed Timeline

All settlements are illegal under international law and, under global pressure, Israel held off for decades on plans to build in the area.

After the recent announcement, the UN secretary general stated they posed an "existential threat" to a future Palestinian state, while a joint statement That was welcomed Along with Gaza and the Golan Heights, the West Bank was captured during the 1967 war against a coalition of Arab states. Israel has controlled it ever since.

As occupied land, international law prohibits Israel from settling it. Despite that, the number of Israelis living there has grown over the years. Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since 1967.

Broader Impact and Sector Outlook

There has been a notable increase in the speed of settlement building work since 2022, however, when Netanyahu returned to power at the head of a right-wing, pro-settler coalition, further escalating after the start of the Gaza war, triggered One example of this is Tzofim, a settlement in the north west of the territory, where BBC Verify analysis of satellite imagery shows the building work of around 185 new buildings since 2022.

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The same can be seen around Kochav Hashahar, where the existing settlement has been expanded in multiple directions, with building work of roads, houses and a new settler outpost on surrounding land.

Hundreds of outposts - illegal under Israeli and international law - have been established since the 1990s. Dozens of them have been retrospectively legalised Maybe the most contentious is the aforementioned E1 settlement. To understand why, you need to look at maps of its proposed location.

The development would in effect divide the West Bank in two and isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the territory. Opponents of the project have cautioned that it would effectively block the establishment of a Palestinian state because it would cut off the north of the West Bank from the south, and prevent the development in the centre of a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog that has challenged the plans in court, said: "The government is trying to sign contracts with contractors before the (upcoming October) elections so that it will be much harder for the next government to cancel the construction." It is not just settlements that have been expanding. Over the last few years, much of the responsibility for the administration of the West Bank has shifted from military control to a civilian authority headed This has led to a huge increase in the numbers of roads that cross the West Bank, connecting settlements but bisecting Palestinian towns and villages, something he said "ensures that the settlements will not remain on paper - but will be established on the ground".

In May of this year, the Israeli government announced more than a billion shekels ($360m; £246m) of funding for new road construction in the West Bank, with the intention of "strengthening of their grip on the territory", according to an official press release.

There has also been an escalation of settler violence against Palestinians. Recently, two Palestinian homes were besieged All taken together, it has led to fears from Palestinians in the West Bank and supporters of Palestinian statehood that the "facts on the ground" will render it unviable.