Israel approves 6,000‑dunam settlement expansion in West Bank

On 20 July the Gush Etzion Regional Council in the occupied West Bank approved a plan to formalise Israeli settlement expansion on about 6,000 dunams of land south‑east of the Tekoa settlement. The plan includes new housing, tourism facilities, commercial areas, agricultural plots and the construction of roads.

Council head Yaron Rosenthal announced that the Israeli government had authorised six new outposts in the Gush Etzion bloc, and the council adopted the detailed development scheme a week later.

The bloc, home to roughly 120,000 Israelis and around 30 settlements, has seen about 60,000 dunams of Palestinian territory seized since the October 2023 Gaza conflict. International bodies consider such settlements illegal under the law of occupation.