Israel approves 126 new settler homes in evacuated West Bank outpost

Israel has approved plans to build 126 new homes for settlers in the northern West Bank outpost of Sa-Nur, an area that was evacuated in 2005 under a previous disengagement plan. The High Planning Council of the Civil Administration approved the detailed plan, which is expected to take effect within approximately two months, allowing settlers to return to the site.

Reversing the 2005 Disengagement

Sa-Nur was one of four northern West Bank outposts evacuated as part of Israel's 2005 unilateral disengagement, which also included the removal of settlements from Gaza. In March 2024, the Israeli Knesset repealed the disengagement law, paving the way for a return to these areas. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who pushed for the approval, described the move as correcting a "historic injustice" and advancing the Zionist vision "on the ground."

Context of Escalating Annexation

The approval occurs amid what Palestinian authorities describe as an intensified campaign to annex the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Measures include accelerated settlement construction, home demolitions, and forced displacement. According to Palestinian figures, Israeli operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have killed at least 1,104 Palestinians, wounded about 11,000, and led to over 21,000 arrests since then. The United Nations and much of the international community consider all settlement construction in occupied territory illegal under international law. Such unilateral actions are seen as systematically undermining the feasibility of a two-state solution, a framework consistently supported by UN resolutions and advocated by nations including Türkiye, which calls for an end to occupation and a just, lasting peace based on Palestinian statehood.