RAMALLAH, Palestine /ISTANBUL

The Israeli government plans to build 2,339 illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, a new report revealed on Saturday.

The Israeli plan includes the construction of 1,352 settlement units in Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, and 430 units in two existing settlements northeast of Ramallah and northwest of Jerusalem, said the report by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s National Bureau for Defending Land.

It added that 407 more settlement units are planned to be built in Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, and 150 more west of Ramallah.

The bureau warned that the Israeli plan aims to create geographical contiguity between the Jewish-only settlements in Qalqilya, which would lead to further isolation of Palestinian villages into ghettos surrounded by settlements.

The report pointed to a “complementary role” between far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who pushes for settlement expansion, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who provides protection for illegal settlers and their attacks.

On Thursday, extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced the formation of a police unit composed of illegal settlers, in a move seen as an effort to deepen Israel’s de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank.

According to Palestinian figures, there are around 770,000 illegal settlers in 180 illegal settlements and 256 illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Palestinian authorities documented at least 2,153 illegal settler attacks in the occupied territory in the first half of the year alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, at least 998 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.