As of January 2023, there are 144 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem.[2] In addition, there are over 100 Israeli illegal outposts in the West Bank. In total, over 450,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Jewish settlers residing in East Jerusalem.[3][4]
The construction of the West Bank barrier keeps a significant number of settlements behind it. The total number of settlers east of the barrier lines in 2012 was at least 79,230. By comparison, the number of Gaza Strip settlers in 2005 who refused to move voluntarily and be compensated, and that were forcibly evicted during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, was around 9,000.[5]
Statistics
Statistics below refer to the period between 1999 and 2018. For more recent data, see List of Israeli settlements.
Shvut Rachel (est. 1991) – an independently governed settlement which is formally designated as a neighborhood of Shilo. As such, its population is counted within Shilo.
1 2 List of Localities: Their Population and Codes, 31.12.2000. Jerusalem: Central Bureau of Statistics, 2001.
↑ List of Localities: Their Population and Codes, 31.12.1999. Jerusalem: Central Bureau of Statistics, 2000.
1 2 W: West of barrier or on side towards Israel. E: East of barrier or on side towards major Palestinian areas. V: Jordan Valley is even farther east.
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and have been constructed on lands that Israel has militarily occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967. The international community considers Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this. In 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel's occupation was illegal and ruled that Israel had "an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers" from the occupied territories. The expansion of settlements often involves the confiscation of Palestinian land and resources, leading to displacement of Palestinian communities and creating a source of tension and conflict. Settlements are often protected by the Israeli military and are frequently flashpoints for violence against Palestinians. Furthermore, the presence of settlements and Jewish-only bypass roads creates a fragmented Palestinian territory, seriously hindering economic development and freedom of movement for Palestinians.
The Palestinian territories, also known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory, consist of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967. These territories make up the State of Palestine, which was self-declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988 and is recognized by 145 out of 193 UN member states.
In 2005, 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were unilaterally dismantled. Israeli settlers and army evacuated from inside the Gaza Strip, redeploying its military along the border. The disengagement was conducted unilaterally by Israel, in particular, Israel rejected any coordination or orderly hand-over to the Palestinian Authority. Despite the disengagement, the Gaza Strip is still considered to be occupied under international law.
Population statistics for former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, which were evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.
The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, known by the Hebrew acronym Yesha.
Ofra is an Israeli settlement located in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 3,497.
Rehelim is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. Located on Route 60, between Kfar Tapuach and Eli, east of Ariel and adjacent to the Palestinian towns of Yatma and Qabalan, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 1,062. In January 2021, under Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government decided to legalize the illegal, nearby outpost of Nofei Nehemia, by reclassifying it as a “neighborhood” of the Rehelim settlement, which itself was an illegal outpost that was legalized a few years prior.
Demographic features of the population of the area commonly described as the Palestinian territories includes information on ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of that population.
Pnei Kedem is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank. It is located next to the Palestinian city of Si'ir and is formally connected to the Israeli settlement of Metzad, in the southeastern part of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, in the eastern Judean Mountains facing Nahal Arugot. Pnei Kedem stands at an elevation of 930 metres above sea level, 14.5 km east of the Green Line, on the Palestinian side of the Separation Barrier.
Shavei Shomron is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. Built on lands confiscated from the neighboring Palestinian villages of An-Naqura and Deir Sharaf, it is located to the west of Nablus, on the road to Tulkarm. It is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,083, mostly religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox Jews. Its municipal jurisdiction is 664 dunams, of which 272 dunams are built up.
Givat Harel is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank, illegally established in 1998 mostly on Palestinian private lands. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council in the northern West Bank, north of Nahal Shilo. Givat Harel is situated just off Highway 60 (Israel-Palestine), next to the Palestinian village of Sinjil, whose lands were "forcefully seized by Israeli settlers" in order to construct Givat Harel. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Outposts like Givat Harel, additionally, are considered illegal even under Israeli law.
Teneh Omarim is a mixed Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located east of the Israeli West Bank barrier, 2.3 kilometers from the Green line in the southern Hebron Hills just north of Meitar, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hevron Regional Council.
Maskiot is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the northern Jordan Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 343.
The Oslo II Accord divided the Israeli-occupied West Bank into three administrative divisions: the Palestinian enclaves as "Areas A and B" and the remainder, including Israeli settlements, as "Area C".
This is a timeline of the development of and controversy over Israeli settlements. As of January 30, 2022 the West Bank settlement population was 490,493 and the settler population in the Golan Heights was almost 27,000 and in East Jerusalem the settler population was around 220,000.
Area C is the fully Israeli-controlled and only contiguous territory in the West Bank, defined as the whole area outside the Palestinian enclaves. Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, contains most Israeli settlements other than those in East Jerusalem, and more than 99% of the area is off limits or heavily restricted for Palestinians. The area was committed in 1995 under the Oslo II Accord to be "gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction", but such transfer did not happen. The area is richly endowed with natural resources.
Amihai is an Israeli settlement organized as a communal settlement in the Shilo settlement bloc in the West Bank. In 2022 it had a population of 264.
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