DaysofPal – Israel has advanced plans for a new settlement that would extend Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries into the occupied West Bank, in a move critics warn constitutes de facto annexation.
The government last week approved a proposal to expand the illegal settlement of Adam, also known as Geva Binyamin, located northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, according to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement organization. The project is being presented as a new “neighborhood” of Adam, but it would have no physical connection to the existing settlement.
Peace Now said the plan effectively extends Jerusalem’s municipal boundary, which Israel annexed in 1980 in a move not recognized internationally. If implemented, it would be the first formal step since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank to expand Jerusalem deeper into Palestinian territory.
“Under the guise of establishing a new settlement, the government is carrying out de facto annexation through the back door,” Peace Now said. “The new settlement will function in every way as a neighborhood of Jerusalem, and its designation as part of Adam is merely a pretext to conceal Israeli sovereignty over West Bank land.”
Israeli media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth described the move as “blurring the boundaries of the Green Line,” the 1949 armistice line separating Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel has never formally defined its borders with the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria. The plan would give Israel de facto sovereignty in the area and expand Jerusalem’s jurisdiction for the first time since 1967.
The project envisions hundreds of housing units for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community on land separate from the main Adam settlement. Discussions have included the possibility of constructing a bridge to connect the new development to Adam. The settlement would begin near Neve Yaakov in East Jerusalem, effectively enlarging the city’s municipal boundaries.
Final approval is expected soon, with construction potentially starting within a few years, coinciding with Israel’s recent efforts to expand control over Palestinian land.
Knesset member Gilad Kariv has submitted an urgent inquiry to Housing Minister Haim Katz, asking whether the government intends to annex the designated area. He warned the plan would exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
“The plans do not align with Israel’s international commitments, including those made to US President Donald Trump, and they reflect Netanyahu’s complete capitulation to his extremist partners,” Kariv said.
The announcement follows other measures critics view as advancing annexation and weakening the Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule. On Sunday, the government approved a proposal allowing authorities to legalize the confiscation of unregistered or “abandoned” land by reclassifying it as state property. Under international law, occupying powers are prohibited from registering land in occupied territory, and the process is widely regarded as a tool to assert sovereignty over occupied land.
Last week, Israel also approved measures to expand civil control over Areas A and B, where major Palestinian cities and towns are located, further eroding the PA’s authority.
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