Advancement of 350 Housing Units in the West Bank

The Higher Planning Council is scheduled to discuss on Wednesday (30/7/25) the advancement of a plan for the deposit stage involving 350 housing units in the settlement of Psagot (Plan 222/5). The plan proposes a demolition and reconstruction (urban renewal) project for parcels located on the western side of the settlement.

As a reminder, in December 2024, the IDF Central Command commander signed a military order applying Israeli urban renewal laws to construction in settlements. The order allows for the allocation of government budgets for planning evacuation and reconstruction projects and other plans categorized as urban renewal.

Since November 2024, the Higher Planning Council has been holding weekly meetings to advance housing projects in the settlements. The shift to a weekly approval process not only normalizes construction in the territories but also accelerates it. Since the beginning of 2025, including the plans slated for approval this week, the council has advanced a total of 21,027 housing units. All time record.

One of the changes made by the Netanyahu-Smotrich government in June 2023 was the elimination of the need for defense minister approval for each stage of settlement plan advancement. Previously, every construction plan in settlements required prior approval from the defense minister. In recent years, the defense minister had limited settlement plan advancements to approximately four times a year, with thousands of housing units being approved in a single session of the Higher Planning Council. In recent weeks, we have witnessed a change where the Higher Planning Council meets every week and approves several hundred housing units in each meeting. In this way, the government seeks to normalize planning in settlements and attract less public and international attention and criticism.

List of Plans Approved Since January 2025