NGO Report Documents Large-Scale Israeli Settlement Expansion in Judea and Samaria

Overview

• A 65-page report published Tuesday by Peace Now and Kerem Navot says Israeli government activity from 2023–2025 created 185 new outposts and advanced planning for 40,064 housing units, with 27,941 of those units promoted in 2025 alone.
• The report records major administrative changes that moved wide civilian powers from the Civil Administration and military chain of command to the Settlement Administration inside the Defense Ministry under Bezalel Smotrich.
• Authors say procedural changes removed the need for the defense minister to sign off on each planning stage, which they link to a sharp increase in approvals, state-land declarations and infrastructure work.
• The document counts 25,959 dunams declared as state land, at least 223 kilometres of new or improved roads, expanded agricultural activity on over 11,520 dunams, and renewed development in former disengagement sites such as Homesh and Sa‑Nur.
• The report attributes 118 Palestinian community and shepherd encampment displacements to violence and restricted access to grazing and water, and notes the findings come from left-leaning NGOs whose framing and numbers may be contested as this data feeds legal and diplomatic debates.