WEST BANK, (PIC)
The West Bank is witnessing an increasing acceleration in the pace of Israeli settlement, manifested in the expansion of infrastructure projects and the construction of bypass roads in parallel with the escalation of settlement construction, in a context that reflects an organized trend to reshape geography and impose long-term field realities.
These policies push toward deepening the isolation of Palestinian communities and dismembering them, which limits the possibilities of urban development and undermines the geographical connection between cities and towns.
Expanding land seizure policies
In this regard, the researcher specializing in settlement affairs, Aref Daraghmeh, confirms that settlers have exploited current conditions during recent years to expand policies of seizing Palestinian lands, by establishing scattered settlement outposts in various areas of the West Bank.
He explained in a statement to the PIC correspondent that the settlement project began by paving new roads, especially in mountainous areas, the Jordan Valley, and east of Nablus, with the aim of facilitating settler access to those outposts and connecting them to each other, allowing for the fencing and closing of lands in preparation for seizing them completely.
Daraghmeh added that the occupation no longer deals with bypass roads as temporary service or security projects, but rather as an essential part of the annexation project and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, by isolating Palestinian communities and linking settlements directly to Israel.
Control over land and resources
Daraghmeh pointed out that settlers “have begun to control everything.” through the establishment of 23 pastoral outposts and the seizure of water springs and agricultural lands, in addition to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian communities and hamlets, especially in the areas of the Jordan Valley, Masafer Yatta, and the eastern West Bank.
He stressed that what is happening reflects policies supported by the occupation government and its various institutions, noting that the construction of roads and new infrastructure practically paves the way for expanding settlements and imposing field realities that make retreating from them extremely difficult.
The National Bureau for the Defense of Land and Resistance to Settlements revealed in its weekly report that the occupation government approved the allocation of an additional 1.075 billion shekels to pave new roads serving settlements during the years 2026-2028, by a joint decision from the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Minister of Transportation Miri Regev.
The report explained that these allocations are added to seven billion shekels that the government had previously allocated for colonial road projects in the West Bank, within a policy aimed at facilitating settlement expansion and linking settlements to each other and to Israel, away from Palestinian communities.
Roads to isolate Palestinians
The report noted that recent years have witnessed a notable expansion in bypass road projects, whether those that have entered the implementation phase or those being planned, including the Jaba bypass axis, the Qalandia tunnel, the Eastern Ring Road in Jerusalem, and the Funduq bypass road east of Qalqilya, in addition to projects to expand Route 60, which penetrates the West Bank from its north to its south.
The report considers that these roads are not limited in function to facilitating the movement of settlers, but are used as a tool to reshape Palestinian geography, by isolating Palestinian villages and communities from each other, limiting Palestinian urban expansion, and imposing field realities that strengthen long-term Israeli control over the West Bank.
The National Bureau pointed out that the occupation authorities have paved more than 952 kilometers of bypass roads during the past years, which has directly reflected on Palestinian agricultural lands and the paths of movement and transportation between cities and towns.
Acceleration of settlement construction
In parallel with the road projects, the report pointed to an unprecedented acceleration in settlement construction, as the so-called “Higher Planning Council” of the occupation army discussed plans to build 643 new settlement units in a number of settlements established on West Bank lands.
It explained that the total settlement units approved since the beginning of this year reached about 3,732 units, including 1,338 units in the Kedumim settlement, where the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich resides.
The report also revealed plans to establish two new settlements in the Jordan Valley area under the names “Bezeq” and “Tamoun”, within a broader plan aimed at creating 18 new settlements in the region, thereby strengthening Israeli control over the Palestinian Jordan Valley.
The report also documented a wide series of field violations in the West Bank governorates, including the demolition of homes and facilities, the seizure of lands, and the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees, in addition to attacks carried out by settlers against Palestinian citizens and their property in Jerusalem, al-Khalil, Ramallah, Nablus, Salfit, Bethlehem, and the Jordan Valley.
These data reflect an integrated path that combines the expansion of settlement infrastructure, the acceleration of settlement construction, and the escalation of violations, thereby consolidating the isolation of the West Bank and imposing a new geographical and political reality on the occupied Palestinian territory.
