In 2024, the Israeli government continued to deepen the settlement project in the occupied Palestinian territory, advancing plans that are further endangering Palestinian development and territorial contiguity, thereby undermining prospects for a two-state solution.
The total number of settlement plans and tenders advanced by Israel in 2024 was 28,872, slightly lower than the 30,682 in 2023. In 2024, 18,988 housing units (HU) were advanced in occupied East Jerusalem, while 9,884 HU were advanced in the occupied West Bank. While 2024 saw a decrease compared to record numbers in 2023, the advancement represents a 250 percent increase over a period of seven years since 2018.
From the perspective of safeguarding a two-state solution where Jerusalem is the capital of both states, the Israeli settlement developments on the southern periphery of Jerusalem continue to sever the chances for contiguity between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The advancement of the Givat Hamatos expansion plan (Hebron Road Strip) toward final approval in December 2024, would tighten and complete the southern ring of Israeli settlements, blocking any contiguity between East Jerusalem and the southern West Bank. New settlement plans were also advanced in 2024, often spearheaded by a so-called settlement of land title process and slated to be constructed within Palestinian neighbourhoods, thereby causing friction.
In the West Bank, the majority of the settlement plans advanced were located deep inside the West Bank. The government established five new settlements (Evyatar, Givat Asaf, Sde Efrayim, Adorayim, and Nachal Cheletz) and advanced an unprecedented “bypass legalization mechanism” enabling 70 illegal outposts to receive government funding and infrastructure without completing the formal legalization process. Israeli authorities also advanced unprecedented land appropriation, with 24,258 dunams declared as “State Land” in 2024 alone, approximately half of all land declared as state land since the Oslo Accords.
Other trends and developments contributing to settlement expansion in the reporting period included advancements of infrastructure and road projects, with 7 billion NIS allocated for settlement roads.
The rise in settlement expansion plans by the Israeli authorities was also accompanied by a worrisome trend of rising settler violence in the oPt. UN OCHA registered 1,420 incidents of settler violence in 2024, representing a further increase from the 1,189 incidents recorded in 2023, which was already the highest since the UN started recording such incidents in 2006. Settler violence was a major contributing source to the coercive environment of many Palestinian communities resulting in approximately 47 Palestinian communities being forcibly displaced since October 2023.
The EU has repeatedly called on Israel not to proceed with plans under its settlement policy 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 2024 further undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful, leads to the displacement of Palestinians and should be brought to an end as rapidly as possible.
