The total number of settlement plans and tenders advanced by Israel in 2023 was higher than in 2022, outdoing 2022 as the year with the highest number of settlement advancements recorded since 2012. [1] In 2023, 18,333 housing units (HU) were advanced in occupied East Jerusalem while in the occupied West Bank, 12,349 HU were advanced, leading to a total of 30,682 HU advanced. While 2023 also saw a high number of advancements in East Jerusalem, the 12,349 HU advanced in the West Bank represented a sharp increase compared to 4,427 HU in 2022 For the West Bank, it was the highest number advanced since the signing of the Oslo Accords. The advancements in 2023 represent a 180 percent increase over a period of five years.
From the perspective of safeguarding a two state solution where Jerusalem could serve as a capital of both states, the Israeli settlement developments on the southern periphery of Jerusalem is severing the chances for contiguity between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Construction in this area began on the first new settlement to be built in East Jerusalem in over 20 years, Givat Hamatos and a new settlement, the Lower Aqueduct, was fully approved just before the end of 2023. New settlement plans were also advanced in 2023 slated to be constructed within Palestinian neighbourhoods which has been known to cause friction.
In the West Bank, the majority of the settlement plans advanced were located deep into the West Bank. Israeli settlers also established 26 outposts the most outposts advanced in a year since 1991 and the government advanced the “legalisation" of 15 “outposts". [2] Israeli authorities also advanced a number of renewable energy sites in Area C, a serious development that undermines Palestinian development opportunities in Area C and add s to the permanency of the Israeli occupation. Another development of concern was the introduction of a “settlement administration” within the Ministry of Defense but under the authority of Finance Minister Smotrich (but in his capacity as a Minister within the MOD) Civil society organisations and legal experts argued that this add ed a layer of civilian oversight to the oPt that would be in contradiction to IHL where the temporary nature of the administration that serves the interest of the occupied population is supposed to be conducted by the military separate from the civilian administration of the occupying country This they argued would be blurring the line towards annexation.
Other trends and developments contributing to settlement expansion in the reporting period included advancements of infrastructure and road projects.
The rise in settlement expansion plans by the Israeli authorities was also accompanied by a worrisome trend of rising settler violence in the oPt. UN OCHA registered the highest number of incidents of settler violence in a year since the UN started recording such incidents in 2006. Settler violence notably spiked after 7 October. Settler violence was a major contributing source to the coercive environment of many Palestinian communities resulting in 1,539 Palestinians from 15 different communities, including 756 children being displaced from their homes in Area C.
The EU has repeatedly called on Israel not to proceed with plans under its settlement policy and to halt all settlement activities It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law. Israel's decision to advance plans for the approval and construction of new settlement units in 2023 further undermines the prospects of a viable two state solution.
Full report here:
[1] The Israeli CSO Ir Amim began documenting settler advancements in 2012.
[2] All settlements in occupied territory are regarded as illegal according to international humanitarian law while outposts are considered illegal according to Israeli law too, until they have gone through a process of legalization.
