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2d ago

Israel Legalizes 19 West Bank Outposts, Including Two Evacuated in 2005

UN officials warn the decision deepens West Bank fragmentation, weakening prospects for a Palestinian state.

Image
People look on towards Israeli settler outposts near the occupied West Bank village of Turmos Ayya on October 19, 2025.
New buildings stand around the Israeli settlement Migdalim near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Palestinians inspect the remains of a destroyed vehicle targeted by the Israeli military in Gaza City, Palestine, on December 13, 2025. Gaza's civil defense agency says four people are killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian territory on December 13.

Overview

  • The cabinet approval formalizes 19 settler outposts across the occupied West Bank, with two sites revived from the 2005 disengagement.
  • Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz advanced the measure, according to Israeli reports.
  • Palestinian officials, Hamas and the Palestinian National Council condemned the step as annexation and an effort to erase Palestinian geography.
  • A UN report says 2025 settlement activity reached its highest tracked level since 2017, with plans for roughly 47,390 housing units advanced, approved or tendered.
  • The UN rights office flagged construction of a new road in the Jordan Valley after about 100 hectares were reportedly seized, and Israeli press claims of prior U.S. coordination remain unconfirmed.