Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has unveiled a government plan to allocate 2.7 billion shekels over the next five years to establish 17 new illegal colonies in the occupied West Bank and expand existing ones — a move that entrenches dispossession and amounts to de facto annexation.
The Israeli government has announced a sweeping plan to accelerate colonization of the occupied West Bank, committing 2.7 billion shekels to the establishment of 17 new illegal paramilitary colonies and the expansion of dozens more.
The plan, spearheaded by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, earmarks 1.1 billion shekels for strengthening existing colonies and building new ones, including 660 million for the 17 newly approved colonies and 338 million for the development of 36 colonies and outposts currently under “legalization.”
The funding covers colonial infrastructure such as water, sewage, electricity, and public facilities including religious centers, schools, and clubs.
An additional 300 million shekels is designated for new colonies, with 160 million as founding grants and 140 million for organizational purposes.
The plan also envisions “absorption warehouses” — clusters of caravans to house families — designed to facilitate future colonial expansion.
Older colonies will receive 434 million shekels for infrastructure rehabilitation, while 300 million will go to colonial councils in the West Bank.
Another 140 million is allocated for roadblocks, and 150 million for bus protection measures over three years.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz is expected to allocate further budgets for “security enhancements” in the new colonies, including smart fences, surveillance cameras, and military equipment stations.
Beyond financial allocations, the plan outlines measures to consolidate Israeli control beyond the 1948 borders.
These include road construction, relocation of military bases, and administrative restructuring — steps that amount to de facto annexation of the West Bank.
A key element is the creation of a special land registry unit for the West Bank, with 225 million shekels allocated to transfer land registration from the Civil Administration to this new body. This would affect nearly half a million colonizers and aims to “regularize” 60,000 dunams of land by 2030.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the plan also includes relocating three military bases to northern West Bank areas, most notably moving the headquarters of the Menashe Brigade to the site of the evacuated colony of “Sanur.”
This plan represents a direct violation of international law. The establishment and expansion of colonies in occupied territory contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention and multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
By channeling billions into colonial infrastructure, Israel is not only entrenching illegal colonization but also institutionalizing dispossession, displacement, and apartheid-like control mechanisms.
The creation of a separate land registry for the West Bank further signals an attempt to normalize annexation, stripping Palestinians of land rights and consolidating colonial claims.
Relocating military bases into occupied territory underscores the fusion of military occupation and colonizer expansion, reinforcing a system of domination that denies Palestinians sovereignty and basic human rights.
Smotrich’s plan is not merely a budgetary allocation — it is a blueprint for permanent colonization and annexation.
By embedding illegal colonies with infrastructure, security, and administrative systems, Israel is accelerating the erasure of Palestinian presence and entrenching a regime of dispossession.
The international community faces a critical test: whether to enforce international law and halt this expansion or allow impunity to prevail.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
