For the First Time, a Plan to Build House Units Beyond the Separation Barrier as a Settlement Expansion

The Higher Planning Council is set to discuss the approval of 267 housing units on Wednesday, Jule 2, 2025 in two settlements: Maale Amos and Ganei Modii’n. The plan to build 150 House Units in the Ganei Modi’in settlement (Plan 208/3/3) marks the first-ever instance of a settlement expansion beyond the Separation Barrier.

The initiative to build in the planned area began more than 20 years ago. In 2005, when the Separation Barrier was constructed on lands belonging to the village of Ni’lin, the development company submitted an objection to its route, claiming that it would harm its project to build a neighborhood on land it had purchased adjacent to the Ganei Modi’in settlement. A change in the status of the plan occurred only after the establishment of the current government. The plan was approved for deposit in June 2023, and this week it is set to be brought for final approval. This move marks the planning authorities’ endorsement of the precedent of building beyond the Separation Barrier.

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 19,647 housing units. All time record.

Settlement Plans Overview

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