Ramallah, July 7 (Petra) -- Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories reached unprecedented levels in 2025, with a record number of new settlements, settlement units, and outposts approved or established, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Israeli human rights organization Peace Now.

The report, titled "Summary of a Year of Terror, Expulsion, and Annexation 2025 in the Settlements," said the escalation in Israeli settlement and colonization activity included the establishment of new settlements and outposts, the expansion of existing settlements, increased attacks by extremist Israeli settlers, the demolition of Palestinian structures, and the displacement of Palestinian communities as part of what it described as an accelerated annexation policy in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

According to the report, Israeli occupation authorities approved the establishment of 54 new settlements during 2025, including outposts that were later legalized. They also approved the construction of 27,941 settlement units, issued tenders for an additional 9,629 units, and expanded the municipal boundaries of 27 settlements.

The report said 86 new settlement outposts were established during the year, including 60 pastoral outposts, averaging one to two new outposts each week. It added that settler attacks led to the complete or partial displacement of 22 Palestinian communities.

Peace Now also documented the demolition of 1,269 Palestinian structures in Area C of the occupied West Bank under the pretext of lacking building permits. In addition, it recorded 1,828 attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property, resulting in the killing of nine Palestinians and injuries to 838 others.

The organization said the Israeli government has continued to allocate substantial resources to expand settlement activity despite its domestic challenges. It argued that these policies are intended to undermine the prospects for the establishment of a Palestinian state, prolong the conflict, deepen Israel's international isolation, and increase its economic burdens.

The report added that most of the newly established settlements are located deep inside the occupied West Bank, strengthening Israeli control over large areas of Palestinian land and further diminishing prospects for a political settlement based on a two-state solution.

//Petra// AJ