Globally deemed illegal under international law,
Israeli settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory
As of May 2025, 22 new settlements or outposts were greenlit, including legalization of 12 unauthorized outposts
In just the first four months of 2025, 15,190 new housing units were approved—surpassing the 12,349 units authorized during all of 2023
Roughly 600,000–750,000 Israeli settlers now live throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem in legal and illegal communities
Since October 2023, at least 1,860 violent settler attacks occurred in the West Bank—averaging ~4 per day
SETTLER Violence includes arson, rock and petrol-bomb attacks,
vandalism of homes and mosques, property destruction, and livestock theft
Since Oct 2023, settler and military actions have led to 900–986 Palestinian deaths and over 7,000 injuries in the West Bank
Settlement expansion involves seizure of hundreds of thousands of dunams, contributing to displacement of Palestinian communities—over 1,300 displaced and 223 displaced in Q1 2025 alone
UN has termed settler violence "a form of ethnic cleansing," noting increasing daily incidents averaging 3–7 per daysince Oct 2023
Illegal settlements continue to expand at a record pace, backed by political and military structures in Israel. Settler violence not only violates Palestinian rights and international law—it is increasingly brazen, widespread, and largely unpunished. This underscores a growing humanitarian crisis, with deepening territorial fragmentation and demographic shifts in the West Bank.