This is alist ofIsraeli settlements in theIsraeli-occupied territories of theWest Bank, includingEast Jerusalem, and theGolan Heights. Israel had previously established settlements in both theGaza Strip and theSinai Peninsula; however, the Gaza settlements were dismantled in theIsraeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005, and the Sinai settlements were evacuated with theEgypt–Israel peace treaty and the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. This list does not include West Bank settlements that were dismantled orIsraeli outposts.
Israel in effect annexedEast Jerusalem with theJerusalem Law and considers settlements in the expanded boundaries of East Jerusalem to beneighborhoods of Jerusalem and not settlements. The United Nations Security Council ruled that act "null and void" inUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 478, and the international community considers East Jerusalem to continue to be held underIsraeli occupation.
Israel in effect annexed the Golan Heights with theGolan Heights Law and does not consider the localities established there to be settlements. The United Nations Security Council ruled that act "null and void" inUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 497 and the international community continues to view the Golan Heights to beSyrian territory held under Israeli occupation.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territoriesillegal under international law, violating theFourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of a civilian population to or from occupied territory, though Israel disputes this.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Four settlements have been given city status. Their combined population is over 210,000, representing around half of the West Bank settler population outside of East Jerusalem.
| Name | Hebrew | Image map | Population (2023)[7] | Est.[7] | Council |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel | אריאל | _May_2023_(cropped).jpg) | 21,841 | 1978 | Shomron |
| Beitar Illit | ביתר עילית | _May_2023_(cropped).jpg) | 69,281 | 1985 | Gush Etzion |
| Ma'ale Adumim | מעלה אדומים | _May_2023_(cropped).jpg) | 36,680 | 1975 | Gush Etzion |
| Modi'in Illit | מודיעין עילית | _May_2023_(cropped).jpg) | 87,486 | 1996 | Mateh Binyamin |
Several formerIsraeli outposts have been retroactively "legalized" under Israeli law as "neighborhoods" of formerly existing Israeli settlements:
Following the capture andoccupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli government effectively annexed the formerly Jordanian occupied territory and extended the Jerusalem municipality borders by adding 70,500 dunams of land with the aim of establishing Jewish settlements and cementing the status of a united city under Israeli control. The Jerusalem Master Plan 1968 called for increasing the Israeli population of Arab East Jerusalem, encircling the city with Israeli settlements and excluding large Palestinian neighborhoods from the expanded municipality.[8] Jerusalem waseffectively annexed by Israel in 1980, an act that was internationally condemned and ruled "null and void" by the United Nations Security Council inUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 478. The international community continues to regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory and Israel's settlements there illegal under international law.[1]
| Name | Hebrew | Population (2019)[9][10] | Est. |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Talpiot | תלפיות מזרח | 15,104 | 1967 |
| French Hill (Giv'at Shapira) | הגבעה הצרפתית | 8,826 | 1969 |
| Gilo | גילֹה | 30,820 | 1973 |
| Giv'at Hamivtar | גבעת המבתר | 2,944 | 1970 |
| Har Homa | הר חומה | 19,950 | 1997 |
| Ma'alot Dafna | מעלות דפנה | 3,260 | 1972 |
| Neve Yaakov | נווה יעקב | 21,780 | 1972 |
| Pisgat Ze'ev | פסגת זאב | 44,512 | 1985 |
| Ramat Eshkol | רמת אשכול | 3,573 | 1970 |
| Ramat Shlomo | רמת שלמה | 15,070 | 1995 |
| Ramot Alon | רמות אלון | 41,410 | 1974 |
| Total: | 207,249 | ||
SmallerIsraeli settlements inEast Jerusalem includeBeit Orot,Givat HaMatos,Ma'ale HaZeitim, andNof Zion.
In 1967, construction ofIsraeli settlements began in the portion of the Golan Heights held by Israel. That area remained under military administration until 1981 when Israel passed theGolan Heights Law extendingIsraeli law and administration throughout the territory.[11] That 1981 decision was condemned by theUnited Nations Security Council inUN Resolution 497,[12][13] which stated that "the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect." Israel maintains it has a right to retain the Golan, citing the text ofUN Resolution 242, which calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force".[14] However, the international community rejects Israeli claims to title to the territory and regards it as sovereignSyrian territory.[15][16][17]
| Name | Hebrew | Population 2023.[7] | Est.[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katzrin | קַצְרִין | 8,042 | 1977 |
| Afik | אֲפִיק | 394 | 1972 |
| Ein Zivan | עֵין זִיוָן | 541 | 1968 |
| El Rom | אֶל רוֹם | 552 | 1971 |
| Geshur | גְּשׁוּר | 326 | 1971 |
| Kfar Haruv | כְּפַר חָרוּב | 528 | 1974 |
| Merom Golan | מְרוֹם גּוֹלָן | 802 | 1967 |
| Metzar | מֵיצָר | 354 | 1981 |
| Mevo Hama | מְבוֹא חַמָּה | 534 | 1968 |
| Natur | נָטוּר | 787 | 1980 |
| Ortal | אוֹרְטַל | 370 | 1978 |
| Alonei HaBashan | אַלּוֹנֵי הַבָּשָׁן | 509 | 1981 |
| Ani'am | אֲנִיעָם | 497 | 1978 |
| Avnei Eitan | אַבְנֵ"י אֵיתָ"ן | 1,022 | 1973 |
| Bnei Yehuda | בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה | 1,269 | 1972 |
| Eliad | אֵלִי עַד | 602 | 1968 |
| Givat Yoav | גִּבְעַת יוֹאָב | 766 | 1968 |
| Haspin | חַסְפִּין | 1,965 | 1978 |
| Kanaf | כָּנָף | 513 | 1985 |
| Keshet | קֶשֶׁת | 947 | 1974 |
| Kidmat Tzvi | קִדְמַת צְבִי | 689 | 1981 |
| Ma'ale Gamla | מַעֲלֵה גַּמְלָא | 655 | 1975 |
| Neot Golan | נְאוֹת גּוֹלָן | 744 | 1968 |
| Neve Ativ | נְוֵה אַטִי"ב | 227 | 1972 |
| Nov | נוֹב | 1,186 | 1974 |
| Odem | אֹדֶם | 292 | 1975 |
| Ramat Magshimim | רָמַת מַגְשִׁימִים | 821 | 1968 |
| Ramot | רָמוֹת | 835 | 1969 |
| Sha'al | שַׁעַל | 437 | 1980 |
| Yonatan | יוֹנָתָן | 865 | 1975 |
| Kela Alon | קלע אלון | 410 | 1981, 1991 |
| Had Ness | חַד נֵס | 918 | 1989 |
p. 60: Although East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have been brought directly under Israeli law, by acts that amount to annexation, both of these areas continue to be viewed by the international community as occupied, and their status as regards the applicability of international rules is in most respects identical to that of the West Bank and Gaza.
p 69: SC Res. 446 (Mar. 22, 1979), adopted by 12 votes to none, with 3 abstentions (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States), reaffirmed the applicability of the fourth Geneva Convention, as well as opposing the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
pp 85–86: The international community has taken a critical view of both deportations and settlements as being contrary to international law. General Assembly resolutions have condemned the deportations since 1969, and have done so by overwhelming majorities in recent years. Likewise, they have consistently deplored the establishment of settlements, and have done so by overwhelming majorities throughout the period (since the end of 1976) of the rapid expansion in their numbers. The Security Council has also been critical of deportations and settlements; and other bodies have viewed them as an obstacle to peace, and illegal under international law
the establishment of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been considered illegal by the international community and by the majority of legal scholars
The real controversy hovering over all the litigation on the security barrier concerns the fate of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Since 1967, Israel has allowed and even encouraged its citizens to live in the new settlements established in the territories, motivated by religious and national sentiments attached to the history of the Jewish nation in the land of Israel. This policy has also been justified in terms of security interests, taking into consideration the dangerous geographic circumstances of Israel before 1967 (where Israeli areas on the Mediterranean coast were potentially threatened by Jordanian control of the West Bank ridge). The international community, for its part, has viewed this policy as patently illegal, based on the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibit moving populations to or from territories under occupation
It can thus clearly be concluded that the transfer of Israeli settlers into the occupied territories violates not only the laws of belligerent occupation but the Palestinian right of self-determination under international law. The question remains, however, whether this is of any practical value. In other words, given the view of the international community that the Israeli settlements are illegal under the law if belligerent occupation
The international community considers Israeli settlements within the occupied territories illegal and in breach of, inter alia, United Nations Security Council resolution 465 of 1 March 1980 calling on Israel "to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem"
In its advisory opinion of July 9, 2004, on theLegal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the International Court of Justice found Israel in breach of several international law obligations by its construction of a separation barrier on West Bank territory. ... The Court flatly rejects the Israeli claims concerning the inapplicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the West Bank and concerning the inapplicability of Article 49 to the Jewish settlements in the areas occupied by Israel. Neither of these claims gained serious support from the international community
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| Regional committee | ||
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| See also | ||