Netanyahu government accelerates settlement expansion and land designation in Judea and Samaria

After the November 2022 election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government launched an unprecedented push to expand Israeli control over Judea and Samaria, approving 60,000 housing units and designating more than 30,000 dunams as state land, according to figures from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s party. The cabinet also established 104 new Israeli communities and 160 agricultural farms, which the party says protect about 1 million dunams of territory.

Enforcement against illegal Palestinian construction in Area C has increased, with demolition rates rising, yet the number of unauthorized Arab structures has climbed again in recent months, reaching nearly 100,000. Israeli officials claim the settlement drive aims to prevent future attacks like the Oct. 7 massacre, while Palestinian NGOs argue it seeks to cement facts on the ground for a future state. The policy shift follows a transfer of authority from the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration to a civilian official appointed by Smotrich, giving him broad powers over the region.