Afrasianet -In a move reflecting the acceleration of the pace of creeping annexation, identical field data and reports revealed that the Israeli Cabinet secretly approved the establishment of 34 new settlements throughout the occupied West Bank.
This settlement leap is concentrated in the governorates of Hebron andJenin, near the apartheid wall, in a strategic effort to dissolve the borders of June 4, 1967 and fragment what is left of the Palestinian geographical space.
Land Robbery
The story of Fahd al-Qawasmi, a citizen in Hebron, embodies the tragedy of turning Palestinian ownership documents into "just ink on paper", as his land, which he inherited from his father and grandfather, with an area of 500 dunams, has now become the scene of the bulldozing of the occupation mechanisms in preparation for the establishment of the settlement of "Karmei Yehuda".
Al-Qawasmi describes this encroachment as a plundering of the land and its identity, stressing that filing complaints to the occupation police has become futile, as Palestinians realize that "the policeman by day is the same as the settler at night."
The danger is not limited to land confiscation, but also extends to turning these outposts into permanent sources of terror for the surrounding population, according to Mohammed al-Atrash on Al Jazeera.
Atomization Engineering
Preliminary maps indicate that the distribution of new settlements is aimed at isolating major Palestinian cities from one another.
The director of the Authority for Resistance to the Wall and Settlements in the southern West Bank, Zaid Hamidat, explained that the plan seeks to link settlement blocs such as Gush Etzion to Karmei Tzur, which will lead to isolating the city of Hebron from its east, and completely separating it from the Bethlehem governorate.
This settlement expansion aims not only to reduce the area, but also to create "cantons" and human enclaves that prevent any natural extension of Palestinian villages and cities, thus erasing the contiguous geographical presence of the Palestinian people.
Redefining the 'two-state solution'
For his part, Suhail Khalilia, an expert in settlement affairs, believes that what is happening is an unprecedented leap, as the number of settlements has increased from 178 settlements at the beginning of 2023 to about 297 settlements currently.
Khalilia points out that the occupation approved in one year the equivalent of 50% of what it has built since 1967, in parallel with the change in laws and the inauguration of a network of bypass roads that separate the movement of settlers from the Palestinians.
Israel is not only eliminating the traditional "two-state solution," but is redefining it into two "entities" within the borders of the West Bank itself: one for settlers with resources and land, and one for Palestinians scattered in suffocating enclaves, making Palestinian independence geographically and politically impossible.
The last three years, especially since October 2023, represent the "rush towards annexation" phase, as Israel has moved from the official government settlement pattern to the "field privatization" model, after the approval of some 28,000 settlement units in 2025, the highest level in years.
The so-called "pastoral settlement" has emerged as the most dangerous tool, with a limited number of settlers setting up a tent with a flock of sheep, and under the protection of the army, controlling thousands of surrounding dunams. More than 165 such outposts have been established since 2023, of which 89 are in 2025 alone.
