DayofPal—A new weekly report by the National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements says Israeli authorities are accelerating a wide-ranging settlement expansion campaign in the northern West Bank, aimed at reshaping both the geography and population distribution of Palestinian areas.
According to the report, the plan includes the construction of new settlements, expansion of existing ones, legalization of outposts and agricultural farms, and the development of an extensive network of bypass roads designed to link settlements between Nablus, Jenin, and the Jordan Valley.
These measures further fragment Palestinian cities and restrict their territorial continuity.
The report highlights plans involving around 18 settlement sites, including on lands near Jenin and Salfit, as well as efforts to formalize previously unauthorized outposts.
It also describes road projects intended to connect isolated settlements directly to the Jordan Valley, bypassing Palestinian towns and villages.
Among the most significant projects cited is a proposed road linking the “Huwara” area with settlements in the Jordan Valley, which would cross large tracts of agricultural land and deepen geographic separation between Nablus and Jenin.
Additional routes are said to connect multiple settlement clusters, creating what the report describes as a continuous infrastructure network serving settlers while bypassing Palestinian areas.
The report also points to renewed efforts to re-establish the “Sa-Nur” settlement and expand the “Shaked–Reihan” bloc, alongside continued settlement activity on Mount Ebal near Nablus.
It warns that such developments are intended to strengthen Israeli control over key high ground overlooking Palestinian urban centers.
In the northern Jordan Valley, the report describes ongoing land leveling and water infrastructure destruction as part of a project referred to as the “Crimson Thread,” which it says includes plans for a military road and separation barrier that could cut off large agricultural areas.
The report adds that thousands of dunams of farmland are at risk, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of Palestinian farmers.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly called for expanding settlement budgets and advancing long-term policies aimed at strengthening Israeli presence in the West Bank.
The report also notes remarks by Israeli political figures advocating annexation of large parts of the territory and rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, the report documents a continued rise in settler violence and demolitions across the West Bank, including attacks on Palestinian villages, destruction of olive trees and crops, road blockages, and forced displacement in some areas.
It says such attacks were recorded in Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, and the Jordan Valley.
The Palestinian report concludes that the combined effect of settlement expansion, road construction, and military control is the gradual fragmentation of the northern West Bank into isolated enclaves, undermining territorial continuity and increasing pressure on Palestinians.
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