Israel expands West Bank settlement control with 114 military orders

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 war, Israeli authorities have issued 114 military orders targeting the occupied West Bank, a number comparable to the total issued over the previous two decades. The orders have enabled the seizure of roughly 25,000 dunams of Palestinian land and the establishment of 53 new settlement outposts, some built on former Palestinian villages such as Ain Samia and al‑Marjatu.

The measures extend beyond the traditionally restricted Area C, reaching into Area A zones under full Palestinian civil control. A draft law passed by the Israeli Knesset would create a separate “archaeology authority” for Judea and Samaria, granting it sweeping powers to manage heritage sites and to expropriate land deemed historic. The authority has already re‑classified more than 140 archaeological locations in the Hebron governorate as Israeli sites, facilitating further settlement growth.

Israeli officials have also allocated tax breaks for settlers and approved dozens of new housing projects, while designating large tracts of confiscated land as state property. The cumulative effect, according to the Palestinian National Defense office, is a systematic expansion of Israeli presence and a restriction on Palestinian movement, ownership and development across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.