Israel is significantly accelerating the expansion of settlements across the occupied West Bank, most notably through plans for around 1,200 new homes in the strategically sensitive E1 zone east of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has framed the building drive explicitly as a means to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, prompting condemnation from the UN, the EU and a joint statement by the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, who warn it would "drive a wedge" through the territory and cut it off from East Jerusalem. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, though construction has continued largely unabated since 1967.

BBC Verify satellite analysis shows the pace of building has surged since Netanyahu's return to power in 2022 at the head of a pro-settler coalition, intensifying further after the Gaza war began in October 2023; examples include roughly 185 new buildings at the Tzofim settlement and major expansion around Kochav Hashahar. Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jewish settlers since 1967, alongside hundreds of illegal outposts, dozens of which have since been retrospectively legalised. Critics, including the watchdog group Peace Now, say officials are rushing to finalise E1 construction contracts before October elections to make the plans harder for a future government to reverse, while administrative control of the West Bank has also shifted towards a civilian authority under far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has overseen a rapid expansion of roads linking settlements but dividing Palestinian communities.