Peace Now: 2025 Worst ‘Terror’ Year For Israeli Settlements
The Israeli Peace Now movement revealed 2025 witnessed an unprecedented escalation in Israeli settlement projects in the occupied Palestinian territories. This escalation included the establishment of new settlements and outposts, expansion of existing settlements, and a rise in settler attacks, the demolition of Palestinian structures, and the displacement of entire communities. The report described this as part of an accelerated annexation policy targeting the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The report, titled “A Year of Terror, Displacement, and Annexation – A 2025 Settlement Summary,” explained that the occupation authorities approved the establishment of 54 new settlements during the year, including outposts that were “legalized.” It also noted the approval of 27,941 settlement units, the issuance of tenders for another 9,629 units, and the granting of new municipal boundaries to 27 settlements.
According to the report, a total of 86 new settlement outposts were established during 2025, including 60 pastoral outposts, at a rate of one to two outposts per week. This resulted in the complete or partial displacement of 22 Palestinian communities due to settler attacks.
The report also indicated that the occupation authorities demolished 1,269 Palestinian structures in Area C under the pretext of building without a permit. Meanwhile, 1,828 attacks by settlers against Palestinians and their property were recorded, resulting in the deaths of nine Palestinians and injuries to 838 others.
The movement asserted that the Israeli government, while facing internal crises, continues to pour billions of shekels into expanding the settlement project. It believes these policies aim to prevent any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state and will prolong the conflict, deepen Israel’s international isolation, and increase its economic burdens.
The report noted most of the new settlements were built deep within the West Bank, reinforcing Israeli control over vast areas of Palestinian land and undermining the chances of reaching a political settlement based on a two-state solution.
The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law and believe they undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.
The Israeli Peace Now movement estimates that there are approximately half a million settlers in the West Bank, in addition to 250,000 settlers in settlements in East Jerusalem.
Palestinians view these projects as part of an accelerated Israeli policy of expanding settlements, confiscating land, and imposing new facts on the ground according to Quds Press.