[[{"content_id":420624,"content_number":0,"portal_id":2,"lang_id":"en","content_title":"Israel approves 18 settlement jurisdiction areas in West Bank","content_rtitr":"","content_short_title":null,"content_summary":"Israeli occupation authorities have approved 18 new and amended settlement jurisdiction areas in the occupied West Bank, paving the way for settlement expansion and the establishment of additional outposts, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission revealed on Tuesday.","content_summary_fill":1,"content_body":" \r\n\r\nIsraeli occupation authorities have approved 18 new and amended settlement jurisdiction areas in the occupied West Bank, paving the way for settlement expansion and the establishment of additional outposts, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission revealed on Tuesday.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn a statement, the commission said the package includes jurisdiction areas for new settlements approved by the Israeli cabinet, others intended to transform settlement outposts into independent settlements, as well as amendments and expansions to the jurisdiction areas of existing settlements and settlement councils.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAccording to the statement, approving a jurisdiction area defines the geographical territory within which a settlement or settlement council exercises administrative and municipal authority. The decision does not, by itself, confiscate ownership of the land or immediately authorize construction, but it establishes the administrative and planning basis for future expansion by turning land within the designated area into a planning reserve for the settlement.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe commission said the measure allows for the preparation of new master and detailed plans, the expansion of road, water, electricity and sewage networks, the allocation of government funding, and eventually the issuance of tenders and the start of construction.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRegarding Palestinian-owned land affected by the measures, the commission said incorporating or surrounding such land within settlement jurisdiction areas, even without automatically stripping Palestinians of ownership, subjects it to growing administrative and planning pressure and restricts Palestinian construction, agriculture, access and development.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe commission warned that the decision could pave the way for additional measures, including declaring land “state land,” expropriation, seizure orders or allocating land to settlement councils.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt noted that settlement jurisdiction areas often extend many times beyond the actual built-up areas of settlements, indicating that the objective is not merely to regulate existing construction but to reserve land in advance for future expansion at the expense of Palestinian land and surrounding villages.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe commission said the published settlement names reveal three parallel processes: granting jurisdiction areas to new settlements such as “Sha-Nur East,” “Shira,” “Elisha” and “Tzuri”; transforming existing outposts such as “Diya,” “Masuot Har,” “Givat Adulam” and “Bnei Kedem” into more independent settlement entities; and expanding existing settlements including “Efrat,” “Oranit” and “Karnei Shomron.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt said the policy goes beyond increasing the number of settlements, effectively redrawing the administrative geography of the West Bank, connecting existing settlements with new outposts and closing off additional areas to Palestinian urban and economic development.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe commission said the decisions reveal three particularly significant territorial changes.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn “Oranit,” the jurisdiction area is expanding northward beyond the route of the separation wall, which the commission said demonstrates that the wall is not treated as a fixed boundary but as a tool that can be bypassed or altered according to settlement expansion needs.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn “Efrat,” the expansion targets the Khallet al-Nahla area, known by Israel as “Givat Eitam” or E2, one of the last remaining areas available for Palestinian expansion south of Bethlehem.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn “Karnei Shomron,” the amended jurisdiction area prepares the ground for expanding the “Dorot” project and linking it to large-scale housing and infrastructure plans.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe commission said the latest package marks a shift in the settlement project from decisions establishing and politically recognizing settlements to the administrative demarcation of Palestinian land.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt explained that an Israeli cabinet decision gives a settlement political status, while a jurisdiction order gives it geographical and administrative space. Planning schemes, roads and government budgets then follow, transforming the decision into a permanent reality on the ground.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe commission said settlement jurisdiction areas therefore constitute a tool of administrative annexation and gradual land seizure by expanding the authority of Israeli institutions inside occupied Palestinian territory, while retaining the signature of the Israeli “military commander” as a formal cover for a process driven by government ministries and settlement councils.\r\n\r\n ","content_html":"

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Israeli occupation authorities have approved 18 new and amended settlement jurisdiction areas in the occupied West Bank, paving the way for settlement expansion and the establishment of additional outposts, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission revealed on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In a statement, the commission said the package includes jurisdiction areas for new settlements approved by the Israeli cabinet, others intended to transform settlement outposts into independent settlements, as well as amendments and expansions to the jurisdiction areas of existing settlements and settlement councils.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

According to the statement, approving a jurisdiction area defines the geographical territory within which a settlement or settlement council exercises administrative and municipal authority. The decision does not, by itself, confiscate ownership of the land or immediately authorize construction, but it establishes the administrative and planning basis for future expansion by turning land within the designated area into a planning reserve for the settlement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The commission said the measure allows for the preparation of new master and detailed plans, the expansion of road, water, electricity and sewage networks, the allocation of government funding, and eventually the issuance of tenders and the start of construction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Regarding Palestinian-owned land affected by the measures, the commission said incorporating or surrounding such land within settlement jurisdiction areas, even without automatically stripping Palestinians of ownership, subjects it to growing administrative and planning pressure and restricts Palestinian construction, agriculture, access and development.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The commission warned that the decision could pave the way for additional measures, including declaring land “state land,” expropriation, seizure orders or allocating land to settlement councils.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It noted that settlement jurisdiction areas often extend many times beyond the actual built-up areas of settlements, indicating that the objective is not merely to regulate existing construction but to reserve land in advance for future expansion at the expense of Palestinian land and surrounding villages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The commission said the published settlement names reveal three parallel processes: granting jurisdiction areas to new settlements such as “Sha-Nur East,” “Shira,” “Elisha” and “Tzuri”; transforming existing outposts such as “Diya,” “Masuot Har,” “Givat Adulam” and “Bnei Kedem” into more independent settlement entities; and expanding existing settlements including “Efrat,” “Oranit” and “Karnei Shomron.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It said the policy goes beyond increasing the number of settlements, effectively redrawing the administrative geography of the West Bank, connecting existing settlements with new outposts and closing off additional areas to Palestinian urban and economic development.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The commission said the decisions reveal three particularly significant territorial changes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In “Oranit,” the jurisdiction area is expanding northward beyond the route of the separation wall, which the commission said demonstrates that the wall is not treated as a fixed boundary but as a tool that can be bypassed or altered according to settlement expansion needs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In “Efrat,” the expansion targets the Khallet al-Nahla area, known by Israel as “Givat Eitam” or E2, one of the last remaining areas available for Palestinian expansion south of Bethlehem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In “Karnei Shomron,” the amended jurisdiction area prepares the ground for expanding the “Dorot” project and linking it to large-scale housing and infrastructure plans.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The commission said the latest package marks a shift in the settlement project from decisions establishing and politically recognizing settlements to the administrative demarcation of Palestinian land.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It explained that an Israeli cabinet decision gives a settlement political status, while a jurisdiction order gives it geographical and administrative space. Planning schemes, roads and government budgets then follow, transforming the decision into a permanent reality on the ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The commission said settlement jurisdiction areas therefore constitute a tool of administrative annexation and gradual land seizure by expanding the authority of Israeli institutions inside occupied Palestinian territory, while retaining the signature of the Israeli “military commander” as a formal cover for a process driven by government ministries and settlement councils.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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