Illegal Israeli Settlements Rapidly Spreading Across Occupied Palestinian Territory

Around 750,000 Israeli settlers now live in over 500 illegal settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. These settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, have expanded dramatically since the 1967 occupation, fragmenting Palestinian land and restricting the movement of Palestinians. Settler attacks in the region have also reached record highs.

Highlights

• There are 163 officially recognized illegal settlements and over 400 unauthorized outposts in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
• The settler population has reached nearly 750,000, accounting for roughly 10 percent of Israel's Jewish population.
• In 2025 alone, almost 28,000 housing units were advanced within existing settlements.
• 1,836 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage were recorded in 2025, more than double the 852 recorded in 2022.
• Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved over 3,000 homes in the E1 settlement project, a plan frozen for decades due to international pressure.

Details

Israeli settlements are deemed illegal under international law as they violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own population into occupied territory. This position has been affirmed by bodies such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice. However, under Israeli law, these settlements are sanctioned, planned, funded, and built with direct government approval.

Some settlers are drawn by economic incentives like cheaper rents and subsidized mortgages, while others are religious-nationalists who believe the land was promised to them. The "hilltop youth" group, in particular, is known for establishing outposts and attacking Palestinian communities. Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates a sharp increase in settler attacks, especially since October 7, 2023.

Many settlements have grown into large urban communities with their own mayors, schools, shopping malls, and medical centers. Modi'in Illit is the largest, with 89,301 residents. These settlements are connected by a dense network of roads exclusively for settlers, often cutting through Palestinian land and restricting Palestinian movement. The E1 area east of Jerusalem, planned for the expansion of the Maale Adumim settlement, would sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, further fragmenting Palestinian territorial continuity.

Why it matters

The proliferation of these settlements and the accompanying settler violence severely undermine the prospects for a two-state solution. This expansion, illegal under international law, constricts Palestinian living spaces, restricts their freedom of movement, and escalates tensions in the region. The continued growth of settlements makes achieving a lasting peace agreement increasingly difficult.