RAMALLAH, January 24, 2026 (WAFA) –The National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance to Settlements said that the Israeli government has begun the new year with numerous settlement expansion projects across the West Bank.

In its weekly report, covering the period from January 17 to January 23, 2026, the Office added that 2026 is an election year in Israel, whether early or on schedule. In this scenario, Israeli parties in general, and the Kahanist right-wing parties in particular, tend to escalate extremist rhetoric and policies.

The report said Israeli governing circles, especially those involved in seizing Palestinian land and transforming it into a vital area for destructive Israeli activities, as saying, "If 2025 was a year of revolution in decisions and a change in the concept of action, then 2026 will be the year of action on the ground, and we will indeed see footholds on the ground."

These circles, especially in the Civil Administration of the occupation authorities, headed by Bezalel Smotrich, base their statements and their ability to turn them into actions on what was stated in the coalition agreements between the "Religious Zionism" and "Likud" parties.

These agreements approved  explicitly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish 70 new settlements, the majority of which are already on the ground awaiting retroactive legalization, and some of which are completely new.

According to the report,  the settlement expansion is focused mainly on the Jerusalem, the northern West Bank, and the Palestinian Jordan Valley areas, especially after the cancellation of the "Disengagement" Law of 2005 and the return to the settlements that existed at that time, and the expansion of building new settlements on Mount Ebal overlooking the city of Nablus from the north and the "Date City" settlement in the Jordan Valley, which is supposed to accommodate colonists from the Haredim and other settlement projects.

Y.S