JERUSALEM, July 2, 2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate on Thursday warned of the implications of the Israeli security cabinet's approval of a plan to establish 13 new settlements within the so-called Binyamin Regional Council area, saying the move is aimed at expanding settlement activity, reshaping the geography of the central occupied West Bank, and further isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.
In a statement, the governorate said the decision reflects a broader Israeli policy of accelerating settlement expansion and land seizure, particularly during election periods, when, it said, Palestinian land and lives become part of Israeli political competition.
According to Israeli planning documents cited in the statement, the first phase of the project is expected to begin in the coming months and will include the establishment of between four and six new settlements. It also includes the formal legalization of several existing pastoral settlement outposts, enabling them to receive government funding and infrastructure.
The plan focuses on two main areas: the first stretches across the northwestern part of the Jerusalem Governorate and western Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate along Route 60, while the second extends eastward toward the Jordan Valley, linking settlement blocs across the central occupied West Bank.
The governorate said the project falls under the Binyamin Regional Council, which oversees one of the largest settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, spanning large areas of Jerusalem and Ramallah governorates and extending toward the western slopes of the Jordan Valley.
It added that statements by Israeli officials indicate the project is intended not only to expand settlements but also to strengthen Israeli control over major roads and strategic hilltops, connect settlement blocs, restrict Palestinian territorial continuity between the central West Bank and the Jordan Valley, and reinforce Israeli control over Area C.
The Jerusalem Governorate described the plans as a dangerous escalation of Israel's settlement policy, warning that they would further fragment the occupied West Bank, isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, and undermine the prospects of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state in violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions.
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