Leaks reveal occupation secretly approved establishment of 34 new settlements in West Bank

Hebrew media sources revealed that the Israeli occupation's Political-Security Cabinet (the Cabinet) secretly approved a large-scale settlement plan aimed at establishing 34 new settlements distributed throughout the occupied West Bank. This step comes as part of an unprecedented settlement escalation, as the number of recently approved settlements has risen to 103, reflecting a governmental trend to impose a new demographic and geographical reality that will be difficult to reverse in the future.

The new plan primarily targets sensitive areas deep within Palestinian territories, particularly in the northern West Bank and what is known as 'Northern Samaria,' where settlement outposts will be planted within densely populated Palestinian enclaves. Among the most prominent proposed locations are settlements named 'Noa' and 'Emek Dotan,' which are planned to be established in remote points aimed at severing the connections between surrounding Palestinian villages and completely isolating them from each other.

The secret decision's provisions include immediate executive measures aimed at accelerating construction operations and imposing a fait accompli on the ground, by starting to extend electricity and water networks and basic infrastructure to these sites before commencing the actual housing process. This tactic aims to ensure the legal and practical establishment of these settlements in record time, thereby reducing the ability to object to them or remove them in any future political settlements.

Despite political insistence, the Chief of Staff of the occupation army expressed clear reservations about this plan, pointing to the significant security challenges that forces will face in securing these remote locations. Military commanders explained that deploying forces in these scattered outposts would deplete limited manpower, but the political level in the occupation government ignored these warnings and insisted on proceeding with the approval of the settlement project.

The occupation government deliberately kept this decision out of the spotlight to avoid confrontation with the international community, especially the administration of US President Donald Trump, amidst ongoing diplomatic activity and regional talks. Observers believe that the occupation is racing against time to exploit the current circumstances and the state of war to achieve settlement leaps that will definitively eliminate any chance of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state, and transform the West Bank into isolated cantons.

The plan includes establishing settlement outposts in very sensitive areas within densely populated Palestinian enclaves to complicate the geographical reality.