The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned that newly announced Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank will speed up the expansion of illegal colonies and tighten Israeli control over Palestinian communities already facing mounting pressure from military operations and colonizer violence across the occupied West Bank.
In a brief statement posted on its official platform, the agency said the new policies amount to “a new blow to international law” and create conditions that allow for the rapid growth of settlement blocs and outposts across the West Bank.
UNRWA said the measures are part of a broader shift that reshapes how Palestinians can use their land, move between communities, and access essential services.
According to the agency, the new procedures will make it easier for Israeli authorities and illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers to seize additional Palestinian land, restrict construction, and impose tighter movement controls on towns, villages, and refugee camps.
UNRWA said these steps will have immediate consequences for families living in rural areas, particularly those near settlement corridors where land confiscation and colonizer activity have already intensified.
The agency described the measures as “a recipe for more control, more despair, and more violence,” warning that they set dangerous precedents with implications that extend beyond the occupied territory.
UNRWA said the policies risk normalizing practices that violate international humanitarian law and could influence how similar situations are handled in other parts of the world.
Residents in areas near expanding settlements said they have seen new restrictions on access to farmland and grazing areas, along with an increased military presence on roads connecting nearby towns.
In some locations, families were informed that additional land would soon be designated as closed military zones — a step that often precedes settlement expansion or the establishment of new outposts.
UNRWA said the cumulative effect of these measures will deepen Palestinian vulnerability and accelerate the fragmentation of communities already struggling with home demolitions, movement restrictions, and repeated attacks by colonizers.
The agency noted that the new policies will further limit Palestinians’ ability to build homes, maintain agricultural livelihoods, or move safely between population centers.
UNRWA called on the international community to uphold its responsibilities under international law and ensure that Palestinian civilians are protected from policies that threaten their land, safety, and future.
Furthermore, UNRWA reiterated that the occupied West Bank is protected under international humanitarian law, and that any actions altering its demographic or territorial status are illegal.
It urged governments and international institutions to respond decisively, warning that without immediate intervention, the new measures will accelerate the expansion of Israeli colonies and entrench a system of control that leaves Palestinian communities with fewer resources and fewer options for survival.
