RAMALLAH, December 19, 2025 (WAFA) — Head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Minister Muayyad Shaaban, said that Israeli occupation authorities have published a new plan to amend the boundaries of the so-called “blue line” of the colonial Mishmar Yehuda outpost, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, in a dangerous settlement expansion entrenching Israel's creeping annexation policy on the ground.
In a statement issued on Friday, Shaaban explained that reviews conducted by the commission indicate that the occupation authorities approved the transformation of the Mishmar Yehuda outpost into a full settlement in 2023, shortly after the formation of Israel’s far-right government.
He said the current decision by the “blue line” team to define the boundaries of the new settlement reflects Israel’s intention to establish a large settlement comprising thousands of colonial housing units, as part of an accelerated effort to reshape Palestinian geography and subject it to an apartheid and colonial settlement system.
Shaaban noted that commission documents show Mishmar Yehuda was included among 11 outposts approved by the Israeli government for legalization as settlements in February 2023. These include Malachei Hashalom, for which 745 dunums were declared state land, as well as Avigail and Asael, for which land allocation orders were issued. Other outposts include Givat Harel and Givat Haroeh, which were later merged and included in the recent announcement of 19 settlements, and Beit Hogla, for which a structural plan was recently advanced, in addition to Sde Boaz and Shaharit.
According to official documents published by the Israeli army on December 18, 2025, the occupation authorities added approximately 472 dunums to the settlement’s area of control, excluded 351.08 dunums, and left a total of 2,908 dunums unchanged from the original declaration issued on October 1, 1982. Under that declaration, hundreds of dunums from the lands of Abu Dis and Al-Sawahreh, south of Jerusalem, were classified as state land.
Shaaban warned that the new modification deepens the isolation of Jerusalem from the southern West Bank by positioning an additional settlement along the Ma’ale Adumim–Kedar settlement corridor east of the city.
Settlement expansion is considered illegal under international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, and has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations and the international community.
M.N
