File photo of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank next to the so-called E1 project in East Jerusalem, taken in February 2026 Israel's plans to open up tenders for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in a strategically important part of the occupied West Bank have sparked fresh condemnation by major Western powers. In a joint statement, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada called the decision "unacceptable" and urged Israel to "ret

The E1 plan has drawn criticism over concerns that construction could disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity and make statehood more difficult. Israeli minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference announcing his plans to approve more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, August 14, 2025. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) The government plan to populate the contentious E1 area, located between Ma’

In several cases, jurisdiction areas were also divided or reorganized, allowing separate settlements to be established under distinct municipal administrations. View of the settlement of Sa-Nur in the West Bank, April 19, 2026. | (photo credit: NASSER ISHTAYEH/FLASH90) A June study from Bimkom showed an acceleration in the Israeli government’s use of settlement jurisdiction orders in the West Bank since October 2023. Israeli officials have issued 114 military orders establish

EU says the sanctioned individuals and groups violated a range of rights, from the right to physical and mental integrity, to the right to education. Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Ras Ein al-Auja [File: Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Getty Images] The European Union has sanctioned four entities and three individuals it says are “extremist Israeli settlers” responsible for “serious” human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The EU sai

Several settler outposts have been erected in the West Bank in recent days | EPA A Palestinian man has been killed and others seriously injured in separate settler attacks in the occupied West Bank. Locals say that in the past day, several new outposts – clusters of settler homes unauthorised by the government – have been set up in areas where the Palestinian Authority is meant to have full control. Settler violence has continued to surge in the West Bank since the start of t

The Palestinian Authority has delivered little improvement to the lives of Palestinians | EPA With Israeli settler violence surging in the occupied West Bank, al-Mughayyir, north-east of Ramallah, has found itself on the frontline. It faces regular incursions by the Israeli army and has seen farmland seized by settlers who have built new outposts. Marzoq Abu Naim from the village council says the settlers aim to force out Palestinians. "They're doing it silently, not openly,

Right-wing groups present what they say is a clear future for Gaza - a land without Palestinians and only for Jews Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the US gave Israel a 'green light' to transform the Gaza Strip into a 'resort town' (Reuters/File photo) Extremist Israeli politicians and right-wing settlers held a conference in Israel's parliament on Tuesday where they said the US had given them the "green light" to transform the besieged Gaza Strip in