For $350 Million: Israel Prepares for Its Largest West Bank Settlement Expansion in Years

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Israel is preparing to approve a funding plan for 61 settlements in the West Bank, representing one of the largest settlement expansion initiatives in recent years.

This was revealed in a draft government resolution that Barak Ravid, a correspondent for the American news outlet Axios, said he had obtained.

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Plan Details

The draft resolution indicates that the Israeli government is preparing to approve a plan to finance the actual construction of 61 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, in what is being described as one of the largest settlement expansion efforts of recent decades.

According to the journalist, writing on his X account, the Israeli cabinet is expected to allocate more than $350 million over several years to transform these settlements from paper-approved projects into physical communities on the ground. The funding would cover temporary housing complexes, public buildings, and infrastructure, even before the completion of formal planning procedures.

The plan states that the government will finance the establishment of temporary settlement sites containing mobile homes, public facilities, and community services, in addition to development works involving roads and essential utility networks in preparation for the future establishment of permanent settlements.

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Undermining the Two-State Solution

Many of the settlements included in the proposal are located in strategically sensitive areas, including along Highway 90 in the Jordan Valley, in the South Hebron Hills, and in locations intended to create territorial continuity between existing settlements.

According to the Axios correspondent, such a move would “further undermine the prospects of a future Palestinian state.”

Smotrich Leads the Initiative

The plan is being spearheaded by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent figure on Israel’s hard-right political spectrum.

The initiative carries particular political significance because the government is seeking to secure approval for the funding before any potential vote on dissolving the Knesset and calling new elections, which could make the approval of major budget allocations more difficult afterward.

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If approved, the plan would allow the construction of temporary settlement sites to begin while planning procedures continue, thereby creating new facts on the ground that could later evolve into permanent settlements.

The proposal follows a government decision approved last week that allocated approximately $35 million for planning and regulatory work related to the same settlements. The new initiative therefore marks a transition from the planning stage to practical implementation on the ground.

Earlier this month, Smotrich announced that the Higher Planning Council of Israel’s Ministry of Defense had approved the development of 2,162 new housing units in West Bank settlements.

The Axios correspondent noted that this plan follows a series of cabinet decisions adopted over the past year authorizing dozens of new settlements, representing “the largest wave of settlement approvals in years.”

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