RAMALLAH, July 17, 2026 (WAFA) – The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said the so-called Higher Planning Council of the Israeli occupation's Civil Administration has discussed nine colonial plans since the beginning of July, reflecting the continued policy of accelerating colonial planning mechanisms as one of the most effective tools for imposing facts on the ground.
The Commission said in a statement on Friday that the nine plans underwent approval and deposit procedures and do not represent ordinary urban expansion. Rather, they form part of a systematic policy aimed at strengthening the colonial bloc in the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, by combining the horizontal expansion of colonies with increased urban density within the colonies to accommodate larger numbers of colonists and ensure the sustainability of the colonial project.
It explained that data shows that the occupation continues to invest in existing colonies rather than focusing on establishing new ones. The plans allocated more than 1,069 dunums of occupied Palestinian land and advanced the construction of 1,024 new colonial units, including 455 units that received approval and 569 units that were deposited for further authorization procedures.
The Commission noted that this distribution indicates continued activity at a high pace across various stages of the planning process, ensuring a steady flow of colonial construction projects in the coming months.
It said the emphasis on the northern West Bank is evident in the approval of a plan to expand the colony of Mevo Dotan by adding 455 colonial units on nearly 539 dunums of land belonging to the town of Arraba, south of Jenin. The move is consistent with developments witnessed in the area in recent months, including military operations, infrastructure development and the rehabilitation of surrounding colonies, reflecting the growing importance of the northern West Bank in Israeli colonial priorities.
The Commission added that Hebron governorate has emerged as one of the main arenas of current colonial expansion following the deposit of two major plans in the colonies of Beit Hagai and Asael—whose conversion from an outpost into a colony was approved in early 2023. The plans provide for the addition of 567 colonial units on more than 519 dunums, reflecting continued efforts to strengthen colonial blocs in the southern West Bank and connect them to road networks and infrastructure, thereby consolidating the takeover of large areas of Palestinian land and limiting Palestinian urban expansion.
The Commission further said that colonial expansion is not limited to the construction of new units. The plans also reveal a parallel process involving the restructuring of planning systems within colonies through changes to building lines, the conversion of land use from commercial to residential purposes, and amendments to construction regulations, land-marketing mechanisms and plot divisions.
Although these changes may appear technical in nature, the Commission stressed that they are, in fact, planning tools that allow for increased colonial density and maximum use of available land, reducing the future need to seize additional land for urban expansion.
The Commission concluded that these plans demonstrate that colonial planning is no longer confined to housing construction but has become an integrated system aimed at reshaping the Palestinian geographic space through the development of existing colonies, the modernization of their planning systems and their integration into Israeli infrastructure networks. This comes amid the continued strangulation of Palestinian communities and the denial of any planning or urban development prospects, turning planning into a central tool for entrenching de facto annexation and reinforcing Israeli control over Palestinian land.
T.R.
