Israeli cabinet 'secretly approves record number' of new West Bank settlements

Israel’s cabinet has secretly approved a record number of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli news channel i24NEWS.

Amid the war on Iran, the government ratified 34 new settlements in a single decision – more than half the total approved during the previous record-setting year of 2025.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

Sources told i24NEWS that the Israeli army’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, who attended the meeting, did not explicitly oppose the plan but expressed concerns over limited personnel and suggested phasing the rollout to a smaller number of sites at a time.

The cabinet initially kept the decision classified, but details were leaked on Thursday with approval from the censor. 

These 34 new settlements come on top of 68 already approved by the current government since 2022, alongside nearly 200 unauthorised outposts established during the same period.

Read more: Israeli cabinet 'secretly approves record number' of new West Bank settlements