RAMALLAH, April 9, 2026 (WAFA) – The Commission Against the Wall and Settlements stated that the Israeli occupation authorities are planning to establish 34 new colonial outposts in the West Bank.
The head of the Commission, Muayyad Shaaban, considered the dangerous decision taken by the so-called Israeli “Cabinet” to secretly approve the establishment of dozens of new colonies in the West Bank to be an extremely dangerous leap in the accelerated colonial project on Palestinian land, and a blatant attempt to impose irreversible facts on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territory.
He explained that this decision, with its unprecedented scale in terms of the number of outposts, reaching 34 colonial outposts, aims to further fragment Palestinian geography and isolate its communities.
He pointed out that this plan aims to entrench creeping annexation and transform colonial settlement into a sovereign tool imposed by force, in direct and explicit defiance of all rules of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy that deem colonies illegal and invalid.
Shaaban stated that the available preliminary maps regarding the occupation's decision reveal a systematic and widespread targeting of Palestinian lands, particularly in the northern West Bank, specifically around Jenin Governorate. The occupying power has decided to re-establish colonies in this area, this time by positioning more colonial outposts around the four evacuated colonies that have been approved for re-establishment. In addition, ten new colonial outposts are being targeted in Hebron Governorate.
He added that the distribution of these new colonial outposts demonstrates a systematic targeting of areas surrounding the Green Line, indicating the occupation's persistent attempt to erase borders, thus eliminating any future prospect for a two-state solution.
He further noted that the distribution of these new colonial outposts demonstrates a systematic targeting of areas surrounding the 1948 territories, indicating the occupation's persistent attempt to erase borders, thus eliminating any future prospect for a two-state solution.
Shaaban pointed out that this decision comes as a continuation of a series of decisions taken by the Israeli cabinet during 2025, which included separating 13 colonial neighborhoods and designating them as independent colonies, in addition to approving the establishment of 22 colonial outposts at a later stage, followed by an additional decision to establish 19 more outposts. This reflects a cumulative and systematic approach to expanding the colonial project and transforming it from gradual expansion to rapid quantitative and qualitative leaps aimed at imposing irreversible facts on the ground.
He emphasized that this escalation comes within the context of a clear exploitation of the regional situation and international preoccupation, in an attempt to pass major colonial plans away from oversight and accountability. This reflects the occupation government's insistence on proceeding with its expansionist policies, taking advantage of international silence, inaction, or complicity.
He continued: “The simultaneous and secret approval of this large number of colonial outposts constitutes a dangerous precedent and confirms that the colonial project has become a central tool for reshaping the geographic and demographic reality in the West Bank, thereby undermining any possibility of establishing a contiguous and viable Palestinian state.”
Shaaban emphasized that these measures are null and void, will not create any rights, and will not confer legitimacy. He affirmed that the Palestinian people will remain steadfast in their attachment to their land and their inalienable national rights.
He called on the international community to move beyond mere verbal condemnation to concrete and deterrent measures that align with its declared positions rejecting colonies, and that ensure a halt to this dangerous escalation and hold the occupying power accountable for its grave violations.
K.T
