Over 2,100 West Bank settlement housing units advance in planning process
Smotrich says construction of the homes 'solidifies our hold on the territory'; Abbas urges US to stop Israeli 'madness'
The construction of 2,162 housing units in three West Bank settlements was approved Wednesday by the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration, a department of the Defense Ministry, in a move that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said “solidifies” Israel’s hold of the territory.
The committee approved 1,006 units for Gvaot in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem, in one of the most important stages of the planning process, which will massively expand the settlement — where several dozen families currently live — and create homes for thousands of new residents.
Gvaot was established in 1997 as a neighborhood of existing settlement Alon Shvut, even though it lies some 3 kilometers (2 miles) northwest of Alon Shvut, in order to bypass the need for cabinet authorization of a new settlement.
The government formally authorized Gvaot as a new settlement in March 2025.
The Higher Planning Committee also approved 922 units for the settlement of Har Bracha in the Samaria region in the northern West Bank in an early stage of the planning process, which will triple the size of the settlement, currently home to 3,500 residents.
Another 234 units were approved for Kiryat Arba in the southern West Bank, adjacent to Hebron, in the last stage of the planning process.
“This is not just a planning step, but a national development that solidifies our hold on the territory, strengthens Israel’s security, and establishes clear facts that prevent the establishment of an Arab terrorist state in the heart of the country,” said Smotrich.
Smotrich has been the architect of the government’s unprecedented expansion of the settlement movement, including approval of new settlements for the first time in decades; the retroactive legalization of formerly illegal settlement outposts; and a massive increase in approval for housing construction in the various planning stages.
Since the government’s formation in late 2022, Smotrich has sought to tighten Israel’s control and presence in the West Bank while advocating against the idea of a Palestinian state. He has been sanctioned by Britain, France and others who accuse him of inciting violence against Palestinians.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state that includes East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Around half a million Israelis live in the West Bank among about 3 million Palestinians.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has been far less critical of the fast-expanding Israeli settlements than previous US administrations.
However, Trump said last September that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, angering some right-wing Israeli lawmakers. The United Arab Emirates, one of few Arab states to have official ties with Israel, has also publicly warned the Israeli government against annexation.
Condemning Wednesday’s announcement, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s office warned that Israel’s “provocative” policies were pushing the region toward more rounds of violence and called on the US to stop the Israeli “madness.”
Smotrich on May 19 said he would wage “war” on the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited civic rule in the West Bank, after he said he was told the International Criminal Court prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest for him. The ICC has not confirmed that.