Israel's security cabinet approved a provocative policy on February 9, 2026, to seize more Palestinian land in the West Bank by legalizing 28 new settlements and dozens of illegal outposts, accelerating the occupation's grip amid collapsing peace prospects.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition rammed through the plan, funneling billions into infrastructure to potentially double the settler population to over 1 million, fragmenting Palestinian territory into unviable enclaves.
Settler extremists celebrated the theft of private Palestinian-owned land as a "biblical right," backed by military force displacing families and demolishing homes. This blatant violation of UN resolutions and the Geneva Conventions drew swift global condemnation.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called it "final nails in the two-state coffin," while the EU and UN labeled it annexation. Even the U.S. voiced unease. Rights groups predict mass evictions and violence spikes, with clashes already killing Palestinians along new borders. Israel's move entrenches apartheid-like control, burying any hope for justice.
