Israel plans 763 new units, threefold expansion of Eli settlement in West Bank

Expansion Plans

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Saturday that Israel plans to construct 763 new settlement units in the Eli settlement south of Nablus, a project that would triple the size of the occupied West Bank community which falls under the Binyamin Regional Council, according to Israeli Channel 14. The far-right minister said the housing units would be built and developed in the coming years, allowing the settlement to accommodate thousands of additional settlers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has repeatedly described itself as one of Israel's most pro-settlement administrations. Earlier this month, Smotrich stated that the government had approved the establishment of 104 new settlements and 160 agricultural settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank since taking office in late 2022.

Settler Violence and Territorial Context

About 750,000 Israeli settlers currently live in 141 settlements and 224 settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian figures. The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that settlers carried out 3,488 attacks against Palestinians and their property during the first half of 2026, killing 17 people through assaults on villages, arson, shootings and land seizures.

Palestinian officials warn that continued settlement expansion and settler attacks are paving the way for Israel's formal annexation of the occupied West Bank. Such moves undermine prospects for an independent Palestinian state envisioned in relevant UN resolutions.