Illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank reach 592, commission says

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission announced Saturday that illegal Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank have reached 592, housing approximately 780,000 occupiers and extending Israeli control over 42% of the Palestinian territory. The Ramallah-based body published the data in a briefing on settlement expansion and land appropriation indicators, detailing the continued fragmentation of the territory since the start of the Gaza war.

Population distribution across Jerusalem

The figures detailed that 333,600 settlers reside in illegal settlements across occupied East Jerusalem, while 446,400 live elsewhere in the West Bank. Israeli occupiers are distributed across 192 formal settlements and 400 outposts, including 231 pastoral outposts established to secure agricultural control over strategic areas, according to the commission.

Territorial control and Oslo framework

The commission noted that official Israeli orders place 42% of the West Bank’s total area of approximately 5,660 square kilometers under direct Israeli authority. It added that Israel controls 71% of Area C — which comprises roughly 60% of the territory — and maintains dominance over as much as 91% of the Palestinian Jordan Valley.

Area classifications stem from the 1995 Oslo II Accord, which divided the West Bank into three zones: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under Palestinian administration with Israeli security oversight, and Area C under complete Israeli military and civil authority. The West Bank has witnessed intensified Israeli military offensives and settler violence since October 2023 alongside the expansion of outposts and construction of occupier-only bypass roads.