Israel’s Smotrich declares ‘revolution’ in West Bank settlement expansion

As the Israeli cabinet approves 13 new settlements, a severe spike in demolitions and settler attacks continues to devastate Palestinian communities.Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has declared that Israel has launched a “revolution in settlement” expansion, which he says will see illegal outposts extended beyond the occupied West Bank into the Negev and Galilee.The far-right minister’s post on the social media platform X follows the Israeli cabinet’s recent approval to establish 13 new settlements in the central occupied West Bank.Those settlements, considered illegal under international law, will be situated in strategically critical parts of the West Bank, which Israeli officials say will help entrench their control over the occupied Palestinian territory.The project focuses on strategic corridors along Route 60—the central north-south artery linking major Palestinian cities such as Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem—as well as territory extending eastward towards the Jordan Valley.Palestinian officials have warned that the expansion will further isolate occupied East Jerusalem, long considered the capital of a future Palestinian state, from the rest of the West Bank, undermining any prospect of a two-state solution.There has been an aggressive push to increase settlements since 2022 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed the most far-right government in Israel’s history, which includes ministers who are leading figures in the settler movement. That has resulted in an unprecedented surge in state funding for settlement expansion, according to the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR).After averaging approximately eight outposts annually between 2012 and 2022, the number increased to 32 in 2023. The trend accelerated in 2024 with 62 new outposts established, backed by 75 million shekels ($20m) in government funding. In 2025, expansion intensified again to a record number of 86 new outposts across the West Bank.An estimated 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as 250,000 in occupied East Jerusalem, which are considered illegal under international law.