In 2024, for the first time since the Oslo Accords, Peace Now’s Settlement Watch team documented the establishment of at least seven outposts deep within Area B.
Five of these outposts were established in the area known as the “Agreed-Upon Reserve,” located east and south of Bethlehem. Two additional outposts were established near Ramallah—one south of the settlement of Ofra on lands belonging to the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, and another on lands of the village of Turmus Ayya, south of the outpost Adi Ad and the settlement of Amichai.
Under the 1995 Interim Agreement (Oslo II) between Israel and the Palestinians, Area B was designated as an area under full Palestinian civil control (including planning and construction authority), with Israeli security control. For years, successive Israeli governments refrained from establishing settlements or outposts in areas under Palestinian control. While there have been isolated cases of outposts expanding into the edges of Area B, these were usually dismantled by the Civil Administration shortly after their establishment.
In the past year, however, enforcement against outposts in Area C has all but ceased, and this policy extends to outposts in Area B. Only one outpost, Or Nachman, located north of the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, was evacuated by the Civil Administration, but settlers promptly reestablished it. Recently, settlers from the outpost launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a road connecting nearby settlements to the outpost.
In 2024, 52 outposts were established across the West Bank, with those in Area B constituting approximately 13.5% of the total.
Peace Now: “After seizing control of Area C and systematically displacing Palestinians through house demolitions and settler violence, settlers have now set their sights on Area B. The Israeli government’s annexation plans are not limited to Area C. By enabling settlers to establish outposts deep in Area B, the government blatantly violates another critical element of the Oslo Accords. If we do not act today, we will find ourselves returning to full military rule across the entire West Bank.”
The Trend: Seizing Area B
In recent years, settlers have applied significant pressure on the Israeli government to reduce Palestinian presence in Area C. Organizations like Regavim, along with settlement leaders and council heads, have lobbied politicians, initiated parliamentary discussions, and secured government funding for extensive house demolitions in Area C, preventing any Palestinian construction plans while establishing dozens of settler farms that systematically push Palestinians out of large swaths of land.
These efforts have led the government to adopt settler rhetoric about the “battle for Area C,” treating it as if it were Israeli territory rather than occupied land. Now, settlers have begun efforts to displace Palestinians from Area B. A prominent example of this is their campaign against Palestinian construction in Area B within the “Agreed-Upon Reserve.” This campaign has led the Israeli government to explicitly breach the Oslo Accords by reclaiming powers that had been transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
In July, the IDF Central Command signed an order authorizing the Civil Administration to demolish Palestinian structures in Area B designated as the “Agreed-Upon Reserve.” Following this order, demolition notices were issued for dozens of buildings.
An outpost in Area B east of Tekoa, near the remains of a Palestinian home whose owners were expelled.
Control Over the Agreed-Upon Reserve
As noted, five of the seven outposts established in Area B are located in the Agreed Reserve, in areas south and east of the settlements of Tekoa, Nokdim, Ma’ale Amos, and Asfar. Over the past year, settlers have paved roads, built observation posts, and increased their presence in the Agreed-Upon Reserve within Area B.
The establishment of these outposts has already had visible consequences: Peace Now’s Settlement Watch team recently documented dozens of homes that had housed Palestinian families but were recently abandoned. Some of these homes have since been taken over by Israeli settlers.
A Palestinian home whose residents were expelled and replaced by settlers, east of Tekoa.
Blurring the Boundaries Between Areas B and C
The phenomenon of settlers expanding into Area B is not new. Over the years, settlers have established at least three outposts that encroached into Area B: Kumi Ori near Yitzhar south of Nablus, Ma’ale Rehavam east of Bethlehem, and Havat Gilad west of Nablus. In these cases, the Civil Administration demolished the structures that extended into Area B, often following legal battles.
However, the new outposts established in 2024 differ significantly. Most of them are located hundreds of meters from the border with Area C, and the Civil Administration has taken almost no action to evacuate them.
