Amnesty International: Settlement expansion in the West Bank a blatant challenge to international law and an entrenchment of annexation

Amnesty International confirmed that since last December, Israeli authorities have begun an unprecedented escalation in their settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In a recent report, the organization clarified that these moves come through a package of systematic decisions aimed at entrenching the annexation of Palestinian territories and imposing them as a fait accompli on the international community.

Recent Israeli steps included issuing tenders for the construction of new settlement units, approving the establishment of additional settlements, and significantly expanding existing ones. The organization also monitored legal and administrative measures related to registering vast areas of Palestinian land under the name 'state lands' for easy control later.

The report highlighted a tender issued on December 10 for the construction of 3,401 housing units in the strategic 'E1' area located east of occupied Jerusalem. This plan aims to expand the 'Ma'ale Adumim' settlement and geographically connect it to East Jerusalem, threatening to sever the geographical contiguity of the West Bank.

The international organization warned that the implementation of this settlement project would inevitably lead to the division of the West Bank into two separate parts, undermining any chance of establishing a contiguous Palestinian state. This expansion would also lead to the forced displacement of many Bedouin Palestinian communities that have resided in that area for many decades.

For her part, Erika Guevara-Rosas, an official at Amnesty International, stated that Israel is disregarding all UN resolutions and the legal opinion issued by the International Court of Justice. She pointed out that the continued settlement expansion represents a blatant challenge to international law and contributes to entrenching an 'apartheid' system that stifles the lives of Palestinians.

In terms of numbers, the Israeli Security Cabinet recently approved plans to establish 19 new settlements, bringing the number of settlements approved over the past three years to 68. These figures reflect an alarming acceleration in the pace of land seizure compared to previous periods.

Current statistics indicate the presence of about 210 official settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, inhabited by approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers. These settlement blocs act as tools for military and civilian control over natural resources and the remaining geographical areas for Palestinians.

The organization quoted Israeli human rights sources as saying that 2025 alone saw the establishment of 86 new settlement outposts, most of which took on a pastoral or agricultural character to control vast areas of pastures. These outposts are usually accompanied by an escalation in settler attacks against Palestinian farmers to intimidate them and force them to leave.

In a dangerous administrative development, the Israeli Civil Administration announced last January the allocation of 694 dunams of land in the towns of the northern West Bank as state lands. This was followed by a government decision to allocate 244 million shekels to transfer land registration powers in Area 'C' to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, a step that paves the way for changing the legal status of the West Bank.

On the ground, human rights organizations condemned an attack carried out by masked settlers on activists in the village of Qusra in the northern West Bank using sticks and sharp tools. The assault resulted in two people being injured and taken to the hospital, amid complete silence from the Israeli security forces present in the area.

Human rights sources described these attacks as organized 'state violence' and 'terrorism' practiced under official cover to accelerate land seizure operations. These attacks fall within a broader strategy aimed at tightening the noose on the Palestinian presence in areas classified as 'C' and emptying them of their original inhabitants.

International and local organizations concluded that the escalation in the pace of settlement coincides with legislative changes that grant settlers broad powers in planning, construction, and water. These data confirm that the current Israeli government is moving forward with a plan for the de facto annexation of the West Bank, ignoring all international warnings about the repercussions of this policy.

Israel continues to brazenly expand settlements, defying international law and entrenching an apartheid system that destroys the lives of Palestinians.