Human Rights Council: Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the Occupied Syrian Golan
Written by Tshepo Tlhacoane
Human Rights Council: Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the Occupied Syrian Golan
The Human Rights Council Convened for its 61st session in Geneva between 23 February and 31 March 2026. Agenda items 2 and 7 discussed the report, Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the Occupied Syrian Golan, pursuant to Human Right Council resolution 58/28. The report is an update on the unlawful Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and in the Occupied Syrian Golan, between 1 November 2024 and 31 October 2025, and is based on monitoring and information-gathering by the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and by information provided by government sources, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) concerns itself with this report due to our commitment to monitor the session and discuss any reports related to our seven priorities, or which are related to countries in the Arab Region.
According to the report, during the reporting period, the government of Israel took measures to consolidate its annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory by authorizing the expansion of settlements, outposts and associated infrastructure, by permitting encroachment of settlement activity into Area B, and by facilitating the transfer of governance powers in the occupied West Bank from military to Israeli civilian authorities. These actions by Israel have led to the forcible displacement of Palestinians and deepened an overwhelmingly coercive environment for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These acts and policies violate article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial discrimination and Apartheid. Additionally, the forcible displacement of Palestinians from parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Areas C, including by rendering them unviable for Palestinian life, amounts to unlawful transfer, which ultimately raise concern over ethnic cleansing.
Update on Settlement Activities
During the reporting period, Israel intensified administrative, legal and physical measures that, in many cases, amounted to exercising sovereignty, and this contravenes international law. The government of Israel made public statements indicating that they would use settlement activities to re-engineer spatial order and demography of the occupied West Bank to reinforce Israeli control and block the viability of a Palestinian State.
This is confirmed by the Prime Minister saying “There will be no Palestinian State! This place is ours.” Additionally, the Minister of Defence said that more settlements in the West Bank would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian State. The Finance and Additional Minister in the Ministry of Defence further declared that steps were being taken to eliminate the idea of a Palestinian State, and in September 2025, revealed a plan to annex 82% of the occupied West Bank, except six major Palestinian cities, which would be left as isolated enclaves. Finally, senior Israeli government officials continue to call for the re-establishment of settlements in Gaza following the cessation of hostilities.
Israel has accelerated the expansion of settlements, as evidenced by the Higher Planning Council, which, since November 2024, went from holding meetings every three to six months, to weekly meetings where plans for dozens to hundreds of housing units are advanced at a time. In December 2024, the Commander of the Central Command of Israel issued a military order extending domestic Israeli urban renewal laws to settlements in the occupied West Bank, which allowed for high-density construction projects backed by government funding and tax incentives. This order effectively grants Israeli authorities powers in the occupied West Bank equal to those in Israel.
On 11 May 2025, the Israeli Security Cabinet resumed the settlement of land title process in Area C of the West Bank, a major development, as this had been suspended since 1968. The Minister of Defence described this as “a revolutionary decision that does justice to the Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria and will lead to its strengthening, consolidation and expansion.”
The Knesset intensified legislative efforts to entrench Israeli control over the occupied West Bank through multiple bills aimed at formalizing annexation under Israeli law. This includes proposals to annul Jordanian land laws in the occupied West Bank to allow settlers to buy land directly from Palestinians, annexing 14 settlements around Jerusalem to form a Jerusalmen ‘metropolis,’ and to apply Israeli law across the territory.
Consolidation and Expansion of Settlements and Outposts
Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan are illegal under international law, including in relation to the forcible transfer by Israel of its civilian population into territory it occupies. Israel is therefore under an obligation to stop all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Despite this prohibition, Israel has intensified settlement activity on Palestinian land.
During the reporting period, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved 35 settlement projects in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem. On 29 May, the Security Cabinet authorized, in one decision, an unprecedented 22 settlements, legalized 12 outposts, and recognized an independent settlement of an area previously designated as a neighbourhood of an existing settlement.
Planning Approvals
On 20 August 2025, the Higher Planning Council of the Israeli Civil Administration approved plans to build 3,402 housing units in the E1 settlement block. This settlement block will consolidate settler presence east of the city while further excluding the Palestinians.
Approximately 27,200 housing units within Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank were advanced or approved in this reporting period, compared to 8,694 in the previous reporting period. On 11 September 2025, Israeli authorities signed an agreement to expedite the construction of 7,600 housing units in the Ma’ale Adummim settlement and surrounding areas, including E1 block. This agreement is expected to double the population of Ma’ale Adummim, which is currently 36,000 settlers.
Settlement Outposts
During the reporting period, 84 settlement outposts were established, bringing the total number to 300. Three outposts were established in Area B, meaning 12 total outposts were established there from 7 October 2023.
Establishing outposts follows a consistent pattern which involves building houses and other structures by settlers, which is then followed by harassment, violence, seizure and denial of resources against Palestinians to force their displacement.
Appropriation of Land
Israeli authorities continued to illegally appropriate occupied land through the declaration of ‘State Land,’ which is reserved for Jewish settlement purposes, and integrates occupied territory into Israel. Since prohibiting land registration in 1967, Israel has classified unregistered Palestinian land as ‘State Land,’ resulting in de facto confiscation without expropriation. During the reporting period, Israel declared 1,270.74 dunams of land, which is equivalent to over 313 acres, as ‘State Land,’ with the most impacted area being the Ramallah district.
Evictions and Demolitions
Israel ordered the demolition of 1,773 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank. Of those, 1,607 structures were demolished due to the lack of building permits, permits which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. Another 42 were demolished as reprisal against alleged Palestinian attackers and their families, and 124 were demolished on military and security grounds.
East Jerusalem
According to the report, occupied East Jerusalem is the focus of Israeli measures to fragment and displace Palestinians, build unlawful settlements, and consolidate the annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The implementation of demolitions, forced evictions, and other administrative measures in East Jerusalem further undermine the integrity of the territorial contiguous areas of Palestinian life in and around the city. The unlawful implementation of Israeli law in occupied territory is implemented in a discriminatory manner against Palestinians.
In the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished, seized, or sealed 240 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem, of which 130 were inhabited residential structures. Of these, 168 were self-demolished by Palestinians to avoid paying fines and other charges imposed by Israeli authorities for the lack of building permits. Although demolitions occurred in a piece-meal manner, the effect was to advance strategic goals, including causing the departure of Palestinians.
Settler Violence
There was an increase in the violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, with 1,732 incidents resulting in death and/or damage to property during this reporting period, an increase from 1,400 in the previous reporting period. Of these incidents, 187 resulted in injury or death of Palestinians, 204 caused both death and property damage, and 1,341 resulted in property damage alone.
Settler violence occurred in a coordinated, strategic and largely unchallenged manner, with Israeli authorities central figures in directing, participating in, or enabling conduct.
Settler harassment and attacks against certain Palestinians increased, including against women and children. In some cases, acts of gender-based violence against these groups became the final trigger for displacement. Other attacks led to family separation where women and children were forced to leave, while male relatives remained to keep possession of property.
Accountability for Settler Violence
The increase in settler violence against Palestinians was accompanied by the failure of Israeli authorities to prevent and punish settler attacks. This impunity is a key driver in facilitating and encouraging violence and harassment of Palestinians.
Of the 3,184 incidents of settler violence in the reporting period, 75 people filed complaints on 189 incidents, of which 26 closed without indictment, 48 were still under investigation, and only 1 led to an indictment during the reporting period.
Efforts by Member States to stop and prevent settler violence against Palestinians through the use of sanctions remained largely ineffective. Sanctions by the United States of America were rescinded on 20 January 2025, while other sanctions by States targeted individuals, lessening the capacity of measures to combat widespread settler violence.
Displacement as a Result of Settler Activity
In the reporting period, 1,615 Palestinians, including 828 children, were displaced from their homes due to settler violence. This is more than double the amount reported in the previous reporting period.
There has also been an increase in the intensity and geographical scope of the displacement of Palestinians during this reporting period. This indicates an attempt by Israel to consolidate its annexation of large parts of the occupied territory and the forcible transfer of Palestinians.
Since 7 October 2023, OHCHR has documented the full displacement of 21 Palestinian communities (at least 1,527 people), including 9 communities during the reporting period, which make up 632 people.
The Jordan Valley
A significant focus of Israeli settlement activity remained the Jordan Valley, which makes up 30% of the land area of the occupied West Bank, and is also one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In the reporting period, Israel approved or advanced six new settlement plans in the Jordan Valley alongside 776 new housing units in settlements, in addition to three new outposts in the region. All this, while destroying 309 Palestinian-ownned structures in the valley.
Settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan
During the reporting period, Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Golan continued in contravention of international law and United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolution 497 (1981). In December 2024, shortly after the fall of the previous Syrian government, the Israeli Cabinet approved over $11 million for settlement expansion to support the expansion of the settler population and to advance infrastructure projects.
Reflections
ACHRS welcomes the report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and would like to reiterate our gratitude to the Human Rights Council for providing the platform to shed light on the ongoing human rights violations in the occupied Arab territories. We hope that these revelations will ultimately lead to the end of all occupations in the Arab Region. These reports, in addition to shedding light on violations, will also help to provide appropriate reparations for victims, along with apportioning liability in order to ensure accountability for human rights violations and for violations of international humanitarian law.
Click here for the report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and here for the report on domicide in Gaza.
