Netanyahu era sees 40% surge in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank endure a sharp rise in settler attacks, alongside a 40% increase in the number of settlement outposts under the current government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media said on Friday.

The Israeli Channel 12 said that the West Bank is experiencing an Israeli settlement boom since the formation of Netanyahu's government at the end of 2022.

The number of settlements increased from 128 in the West Bank to 178, representing about a 40% rise, alongside unprecedented demolitions of Palestinian homes, it said.

The report came two days after 14 Israeli ministers from Netanyahu's Likud Party, along with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, signed a letter demanding Netanyahu to annex the occupied territory immediately.

Tel Aviv usually shows little concern for settler attacks on Palestinians; however, their recent assaults on Israeli soldiers and police officers have occupied all Israeli politicians.

Last week, three Palestinians were killed and seven others injured in a deadly settler attack on the town of Kafr Malik in the central West Bank on June 28.

“The announcement of dozens of new settlements, the unprecedented pace of establishing illegal outposts, the construction of strategic roads, and the large-scale demolition of Palestinian buildings all aim to strengthen Jewish control over the area and effectively eliminate the two-state solution,” the channel said.

“No government has ever encouraged settlement as much as this one,” Meir Deutsch, CEO of the far-right Regavim movement, was quoted as saying by the channel.​​​​​​​

“Israel is managing Judea and Samaria as the homeowner for the first time since the state's establishment (1948/Palestinian Nakba).”

- Settlement outposts

According to the report, at least 50 new settlements have been announced in the West Bank since the formation of the current government.

“According to research data, 19 of the newly recognized settlements already exist, seven are currently grazing farms, 14 are neighborhoods in settlements, and 10 are settlements only on paper.”

Alongside the “establishment of dozens of new settlements, construction in existing settlements in the West Bank broke records in the past two and a half years, and even more so since early 2025,” the channel said.

It explained that 41,709 settler homes have been approved, a number exceeding those recorded in the six years preceding Netanyahu's government.

According to the channel, the number of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank reached 214 by the end of 2024, of which 66 were established during the Israeli genocide in Gaza war.

During the first two years of the current government, the number of outposts rose by about 300% compared to the previous two years, according to the channel.

“Most of the illegal outposts established are farming outposts occupying vast areas, with grazing lands currently covering about 787 square kilometers, mostly in central and eastern West Bank.”

The channel noted that the increase in settlement construction coincides with the rise in the number of illegal settlers, explaining that from 2013 to 2023, the number of settlers in the West Bank grew by 38%, from 374,000 to 517,000, according to the data of West Bank settlements council Yesha.