The number of settlement plans and tenders advanced in 2022 was higher than in the previous year. In 2022, 28,208 units were advanced in in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, compared to 22,030 in 2021, representing almost a 30% increase. In particular the advancement of settlement units in East Jerusalem contributed to this unprecedented number. In 2022, 23,586[1] units were advanced in East Jerusalem, compared to 4,427 in the West Bank.

The advancement, in 2022, in particular of the settlements and settlement plans E1, E2, Givat HaShaked, Har Gilo West, and the Lower Aqueduct, are a serious cause of concern. If constructed, they would disconnect East Jerusalemites from major West Bank urban areas, such as Bethlehem and Ramallah, having serious implications on Palestinian urban contiguity and posing a serious threat to a viable two-state solution.

Other trends and developments contributing to settlement expansion in the reporting period included advancements of infrastructure and road projects. The rise in settlement expansion plans by the Israeli authorities was also accompanied by a worrisome trend of rising settler violence in the oPt.

The EU has repeatedly called on Israel not to proceed with such plans and to halt all settlement activities. It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law. Israel's decision to advance plans for the approval and construction of new settlement units in 2022, i.a. for E1 and Har Gilo West, further undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution.

Full report here:

[1] This number includes housing unites advanced in plans and those which were tendered in 2022.