Israeli settlement

Israeli settlements are communities built by Israel in areas it took control of during the Six-Day War in 1967. These areas include the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and formerly the Gaza Strip. The settlements are home to Israeli citizens, most of whom identify as Jewish. Many people around the world believe these settlements break international rules, but Israel disagrees.

In 2024, a top international court said Israel's control of these areas was wrong and told Israel to stop building new settlements and move the people who live there. Over many years, the number of settlers has grown quickly. The growth of settlements often takes land away from Palestinian people, making it hard for them to live and move freely. This situation creates a lot of tension and arguments about peace between Israel and Palestine.

Today, there are many settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, places that Palestine wants to control. There are also settlements in the Golan Heights, which is part of Syria. Some people think these settlements make it very hard to find peace between Israel and Palestine. The world, including groups like the United Nations, often says these settlements are not allowed under international law. Different leaders and countries have different opinions on whether the settlements are right or wrong.

Name and characterization

Some people and Palestinians use the term "Israeli colonies" instead of "settlements" to describe these communities. Settlements can be small farming villages or big city neighborhoods. Four large settlements, Modi'in Illit, Ma'ale Adumim, Beitar Illit, and Ariel, are considered cities. Ariel has about 18,000 people, while the others have between 37,000 and 55,500 people each.

Housing costs and state subventions

Living in Israeli settlements can be cheaper for Israeli families because housing costs are lower than in big cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The government spends more money on each person in these settlements compared to the rest of Israel. In some faraway settlements, the government spends even more. Most of this extra money is used to keep people safe.

Number of settlements and inhabitants

Main article: List of Israeli settlements

As of January 2023, there are 144 communities built by Israel in the West Bank, with 12 of these located in East Jerusalem. There are also around 196 smaller areas that are not officially recognized by the Israeli government. More than 529,000 people live in these communities in the West Bank, not counting East Jerusalem, where about 246,000 more people live.

Additionally, over 20,000 Israeli citizens live in communities in the Golan Heights.

History

See also: Israeli settlement timeline

Occupied territories

After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took control of several areas. This included parts of the West Bank including East Jerusalem from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Israel also took the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and most of the Golan Heights from Syria.

Settlement policy

Starting in 1967, the Israeli government began encouraging people to move into these areas. The first settlement was Kfar Etzion in the West Bank. Many early settlements started as military outposts before becoming homes for families.

In the 1970s and 1980s, more settlements were built. Some leaders wanted to make sure Jewish communities stayed in these areas. By 2005, Israel removed settlements from the Gaza Strip, but building continued in the West Bank.

Since 1967, the Israeli government has supported building settlements in the West Bank. These settlements are managed by a special group linked to the government. In the 1990s, Israel agreed to limits on new settlements, but many small settlements kept growing.

In 2005, Israel removed all settlements from the Gaza Strip. Still, the number of people living in settlements in the West Bank kept growing. New plans appeared to build more settlements in key areas of the West Bank.

Before 1977, only a few settlements existed in the Gaza Strip. With new leaders and policies, more settlements were built along Gaza’s southern border. By the early 1990s, thousands of settlers lived in these areas, taking up much of the land and resources, which made life harder for Palestinian communities.

All settlements were protected by fences or barbed wire. They used local resources like water and took up land that could have been used by Palestinians, affecting the local economy and making it harder for Palestinians to work or develop their areas.

Geography and municipal status

Some settlements are like small cities with many people and all the normal parts of a town. Places like Beitar Illit have almost 45,000 people, while Ariel has nearly 20,000. Others are smaller towns with fewer people, such as Efrat and Kiryat Arba. There are also groups of small villages that share services together. Examples include Kfar Adumim and Neve Daniel.

Under the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was split into three areas. Most settlements are in Area C, which makes up about 60% of the West Bank.

Types of settlement

Israeli settlements are communities built by Israel in areas it took control of during a war in 1967. These places are lived in by Israeli citizens and come in many forms. There are larger towns and cities like Ariel, Betar Illit, Modi'in Illit, and Ma'ale Adumim. Some settlements are like suburbs close to cities, such as Har Gilo. Others are grouped together in blocks, like Gush Etzion and those near Nablus. There are also smaller villages along borders, such as the Jordan River, and very small settlements called outposts, which are sometimes built without permission.

Resettlement of former Jewish communities

Some settlements were built where Jewish communities lived long ago, during the time of the British rule in Palestine or even earlier. For example:

• The Golan Heights had a community called Bnei Yehuda, started in 1890. It was left in 1920 because of attacks, but rebuilt in 1972.
• Jerusalem has had Jewish people living there for thousands of years. Some areas like Silwan were settled by Jewish families from Yemen in 1884. They left in 1938 but some came back in 2004.
• Gush Etzion had four communities built between 1927 and 1947. They were destroyed in 1948 and rebuilt after 1967.
• Hebron had Jewish people since ancient times. They were forced to leave in 1929 but some returned later. A few buildings were settled again after 1967.
• On the northern Dead Sea, Kalia and Beit HaArava were built in the 1930s and 1940s. They were left in 1948 and rebuilt after the Six-Day War.
• Gaza City had Jewish people for many years who left after riots in 1929. Later, communities were built in nearby areas like Gush Katif, such as Kfar Darom, which was started in 1946, left in 1948, rebuilt in 1970, and left again in 2005.

Demographics

See also: List of Israeli settlements and Population statistics for Israeli West Bank settlements

At the end of 2010, over 500,000 Jewish Israelis lived in areas called the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Many of these people lived in special neighborhoods called settlements. These settlements were built in areas that Israel took control of during a war in 1967.

Over the years, more and more Jewish Israelis moved into these settlements. By 2020, the number had grown to more than 650,000 people. Some of these settlements were approved by Israel, while others were not.

¹ including Sinai

² Janet Abu-Lughod mentions 500 settlers in Gaza in 1978 (excluding Sinai), and 1,000 in 1980

Many new people still move to these settlements each year. Some come from other countries to live there. The growth of these settlements has changed the area where many Palestinians used to live.

Administration and local government

West Bank

Main article: Judea and Samaria Area

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are managed under a special area called the Judea and Samaria Area. Since 2007, both the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister must approve any new building plans in these areas. The Israeli military and a group called the Civil Administration handle planning and building.

The West Bank has four main cities, thirteen smaller communities, and six regional groups that manage services for many towns together. These include places like Ariel, Betar Illit, and Maale Adumim.

A group called the Yesha Council represents all the settlement communities in the West Bank.

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem was declared part of Israel and its capital in 1980. It is managed as part of the city of Jerusalem. People who lived there before 1967 and their families have special resident status but many choose not to become Israeli citizens.

Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is treated as part of northern Israel. Israel applies its normal laws there, with no special rules for the local Druze community or later settlements.

Sinai Peninsula

See also: Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and Category:Former Israeli settlements in Sinai

After Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula in 1967, they set up settlements along the coast and in the northeast. The town of Yamit was planned to grow very large, but never did. In 1979, as part of a peace agreement with Egypt, Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt. By 1982, all Israeli settlers left, and the settlements were taken down.

Gaza Strip

See also: Population statistics for Israeli Gaza Strip settlements

Before Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005, there were settlements managed by the Hof Aza Regional Council. The land and water resources there were shared very unevenly between Israeli settlers and the local Palestinian communities.

Legal status

Main article: International law and Israeli settlements

The International Court of Justice said in July 2024 that Israel's control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip is not allowed. The court said Israel must stop building new places for its people in these areas and leave.

Most of the world thinks these places, called settlements, break international rules. A big agreement called the Fourth Geneva Convention says that a country cannot move its own people into land it controls by war. Many United Nations decisions agree with this.

Israel, however, says its settlements are allowed. Israel does not think this agreement applies to them, but says it will try to follow some rules. Some Israeli scholars also say the settlements are not breaking any rules.

Under Israel's own laws, some smaller places called "illegal outposts" do not follow the rules.

In 2014, twelve European countries warned businesses that working with these settlements could bring legal and money problems, because the settlements are on land not recognized as part of Israel.

Land ownership

In 1996, a change to an Israeli military rule said that private land could not be used for settlements unless it was taken for military reasons. In 2006, a group called Peace Now got a report that they said showed Israel was planning to keep land in the West Bank that was privately owned by Palestinians. They said this was against Israeli law.

In February 2008, it was said that more than a third of the settlements in the West Bank were built on land taken by the military for "security reasons." Some of this land was taken from private Palestinian owners.

In 1979, the government decided to only build settlements on land owned by the state. Later, a secret report found that some settlements thought to be legal were actually built on private Palestinian land. Many settlements were built without proper approval from the Israeli government. Israel says most of the land was empty, leased from the state, or bought fairly from Palestinian landowners.

Some critics say that land called "empty" actually belonged to Arabs who had to leave, or to whole villages. There have been claims that some land was taken using unfair methods.

Effects on Palestinian human rights

Some groups believe that building new Israeli communities in areas where Palestinians live has made life harder for them. They say this has limited where Palestinians can go and taken away land they could use.

There have also been reports of disagreements and problems between people living in these new communities and nearby Palestinian communities, sometimes leading to difficult situations. Some roads built for the new communities are only for certain people, making it hard for others to travel between their homes and farms.

Economy

Israeli settlements produce goods that can compete worldwide partly because they receive a lot of help from the Israeli government. This help includes support for farmers, tax breaks for companies, and money to pay customs penalties. Palestinian officials say settlers sell about $500 million worth of goods to Palestinians each year. Israel has built 16 industrial zones in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which contain around 1000 factories. These zones provide work for some Palestinians, even those who disagree with the settlements.

Settlements also have cheaper housing than in Israel proper, and the government spends more money on settlers than on regular Israelis. Most settlers work in Israel itself rather than in the settlements. Only a few settlements have successful industries, mostly relying on workers from Palestine.

Palestinian labour

Many Palestinians work in Israeli settlements because these jobs pay much more than jobs available in the West Bank. In 2013, around 20,000 Palestinians were working in settlements in jobs such as construction, farming, and services.

Some people say that Palestinian workers in settlements do not always get the same protections as other workers. In 2007, a court decided that Palestinian workers should have the same rights as others, allowing them to take legal action if they feel their rights are not respected. However, many Palestinians still prefer not to work in settlements if they could find other jobs closer to home.

Violence

Israeli settler violence

Main article: Israeli settler violence

Further information: Hilltop Youth

Some groups of people living in areas where Israel built communities have done harmful things to others. In the past, a group planned to hurt important places. In one sad event, a person hurt many people who were praying, and many were injured. Leaders in Israel and many others said these actions were wrong.

Reports showed that some people living in these communities have acted out against others. Some leaders spoke out against these actions, saying they were wrong and hurt everyone. The government said it would try to stop these actions and make sure the law is followed.

Olive trees

Some people have done harmful things to trees that are important to farmers. Reports said that many trees were cut down or burned. Some leaders talked about how these actions were not right and hurt everyone.

Palestinian violence against settlers

Israeli people living in these communities have sometimes been hurt by others. Some groups have said these people are not protected, but others say that all people should be safe, no matter where they live. There have been sad events where people, including children, were hurt or killed. Leaders and groups have said these actions are wrong and that all people should be treated safely.

Pro-Palestinian activist violence

Some people who protest near these communities have been accused of causing trouble. A leader in Israel said these protests can be dangerous and might make others react in bad ways.

Environmental issues

Settlers in the West Bank have worked with groups to help with cleaning up the environment. However, they create a lot of waste compared to the local population. Some say that this waste harms the land and water used by nearby communities.

Both settlers and local people share important water sources, and waste from both sides can pollute these resources. Experts have found that waste often isn’t cleaned properly, which can be dangerous. Some factories run by settlers may also cause pollution if they don’t follow rules.

Impact on Palestinian demographics

Israeli settlement policies have affected many Palestinian communities. Reports suggest these policies have led some residents to leave their homes.

There have been concerns that restrictions on building and resources, like energy, make life very difficult for Palestinians, possibly encouraging many to move away. This situation impacts thousands of people living in affected areas.

Educational institutions

Ariel University, once known as the College of Judea and Samaria, is the main place for higher learning for Israelis in the West Bank. Nearly 13,000 students study there, and it offers degrees in subjects like arts, sciences, technology, architecture, and physical therapy. It became a full university in 2012.

Other colleges focus on training teachers, such as Herzog College in Alon Shvut and Orot Israel College in Elkana. Ohalo College is in Katzrin, in the Golan Heights. These schools are supervised by a special council for education in the area.

In 2012, the Shomron Regional Council received a top award from the Israeli Ministry of Education for its strong commitment to education and excellent results.

Strategic significance

In 1983, Israel made a plan to build many homes for Jewish people in certain areas of the West Bank. The goal was to make it harder for a Palestinian state to form.

Some Palestinians believe these homes were built to stop peace agreements and make it difficult for them to have their own country. An Israeli leader also thought that growing some settlements was trying to stop agreements with the Palestinians.

Israel’s government says some of these homes are okay because they were built before certain peace treaties. They say the places for these homes were chosen to help protect Israel from possible attacks when peace treaties had not yet been made with nearby countries like Jordan, Syria, and Egypt.

Dismantling of settlements

Further information: Israel's unilateral disengagement plan

In 1982, Israel removed settlers from 18 places in Sinai as part of a peace agreement with Egypt. Some settlers were removed by force, and the buildings were torn down to prevent people from returning.

In 2005, Israel left the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank. This included removing people from 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank. Many of these settlements had been there for a long time, and more than 8,000 people lived in them. Some people in Israel did not agree with this plan.

After leaving, Israel tore down most buildings in these areas. Some greenhouses were left to help the local economy, but many were damaged after Israel left. Some people think that settlements could stay even if Israel leaves the area, but this idea is not shared by everyone.

Palestinian statehood bid of 2011

In 2011, Palestine tried to become an official country at the United Nations, known as the Palestine 194 plan. The United States refused to say that Israel's settlements were against international rules, which many believe was a big reason for this attempt.

When this happened, Israel announced plans for more settlements. Germany tried to stop sending special submarines to Israel. By 2012, some European countries changed their votes to support Palestine's attempt because of the ongoing building of settlements. In response, Israel approved even more settlements, which led to more criticism from around the world.

Impact on peace process

Main article: Israeli–Palestinian peace process

The settlements have caused tension between Israel and other countries. Some leaders have said the settlements are not allowed, while others see them as a problem for making peace. In 2005, a leader said Israel should keep some areas where many settlers live. In 2009, another leader said Israel should not keep building settlements.

Palestinians feel that Israel is making it hard to make peace by building more settlements. In 1993, both sides agreed to talk about settlements later. Some ideas suggest that Israel could keep some settled areas if they give land back to the Palestinians in return. Leaders have talked about sharing land and finding ways for both sides to live together peacefully.

Settlement expansion

On 19 June 2011, Haaretz reported that the Israeli cabinet voted to change who could approve new building in areas called the West Bank. This change moved the power from one minister to the office of the Prime Minister.

In 2009, the new Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he did not plan to build new settlements but would allow for growth as families grew. In April 2012, the government made four unofficial settlements official. In June 2012, plans were announced for 851 new homes in five places.

In November 2013, Israel announced plans for 1,700 new homes in nine settlements. Later that month, plans for 24,000 more homes were revealed, with many to be built in areas Israel wants to keep in any future peace agreement.

The United Nations has asked Israel to stop building in areas called the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Reports show that Israel has not stopped and has continued to build more homes for settlers.

In 2019, Israel made money available to help build hotels in part of the West Bank. In 2021, new plans were announced for more homes, which many countries said was wrong.

In February 2023, the new Israeli government approved making nine unofficial settlements official. Later that year, rules were changed to make it easier to build more settlements. By the end of 2023, building had increased greatly.

In December 2025, Israel planned to create 19 new settlements in the West Bank. In February 2026, Israel made more changes to make it easier for settlers to buy land and use land records that were before closed to Israelis. Many countries said these actions break international rules and hurt hopes for peace. They asked Israel to change its plans.