Israeli settlements in West Bank growing at highest level since 2017: UN

UNITED NATIONS, (United States): The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a report by the UN chief seen by AFP on Friday.

In 2025, “plans for nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tendered, compared with some 26,170 in 2024,” the report said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “relentless” expansion, saying it “continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State.”

“These figures represent a sharp increase compared to previous years,” he added, noting an average of 12,815 housing units were added annually between 2017 and 2022.