West Bank settlement expansion intensifies amid new Israeli outposts

A report from the National Bureau for Defense of the Land and Resistance to Settlements details an escalation in Israeli settlement expansion and settler attacks in the West Bank between August 23 and August 28.

Key developments include a tender for approximately 1,200 settlement units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem and the approval of 264 settlements and outposts by the Israeli government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has reportedly described these actions as a ‘settlement revolution,’ while the Israeli military's Central Command commander signed off on 18 new zones of influence for outposts to facilitate future infrastructure and construction.

The report also notes a trend of defining new influence zones—70 such zones have been identified within the last year—to legalize existing outposts and expand control over Palestinian land and water. Additionally, MK Zvi Sukkot was cited for destroying a Palestinian martyr memorial in Madama village under military protection.