This morning it was reported that the Security Cabinet decided last night to establish a new administration in the Defense Ministry tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave the Gaza Strip, and to “split 13 settlements in Judea and Samaria.” Since the Security Cabinet’s decisions are confidential, the text of the decision itself was not published, but publications indicate that it concerns granting independent status to settlements that already exist and operate as independent settlements, but until now have been considered “neighborhoods” of existing settlements, in order to avoid public and international criticism. This makes the number of officially recognized settlements 140, instead of 127.
Peace Now: “The establishment of the administration to expel Palestinians from Gaza is one of the stupidest moves by a government that has lost all direction and logical thinking. There is no need for a special administration to allow the departure of Gazans, and its establishment constitutes an Israeli admission of committing war crimes of expulsion and an indelible stain on the State of Israel. When life in a certain place is made impossible by bombing and siege, it is impossible to claim that the departure is “voluntary.” The decision to establish 13 official settlements exposes Israel’s long-standing lie that it does not establish new settlements, but only “neighborhoods” of existing settlements. The decision is another nail in the coffin that the Government of Israel is preparing for the only chance for a future of peace and security, of two states for two peoples.”
The settlement that got independent status, 22/3/25
The meaning of the establishment of the 13 settlements
Since the Oslo Accords, in which Israel pledged not to take steps that would harm the permanent settlement, that is, not to develop the settlements, Israeli governments have been careful to present the image as if Israel was not establishing new settlements in the Occupied Territories. In practice, hundreds of new settlements were established, but they were considered “illegal outposts,” which Israeli governments could formally disavow. When the Israeli government sought to legalize an illegal outpost, it usually did so by approving a building plan for a “neighborhood” of an existing settlement, thus avoiding informing the public about the establishment of a new settlement.
The settlements that, according to the publications, will receive the status of independent settlements currently operate officially under the same local committee together with the neighboring settlement, and share a common budget. With the separation of the settlements, it will be possible to budget each settlement separately and each will have its own local committee.
The list of settlements that will receive official status, according to the publications:
Alon (east of Jerusalem) – is currently considered formally part of the Kfar Adumim settlement
Haresha, Kerem Reim and Neria (west of Ramallah) – are currently considered neighborhoods of Talmon. Haresha and Kerem Reim were established as illegal outposts and were retroactively legalized as a “neighborhood” of Talmon.
New Migron – currently considered a neighborhood of Kochav Yaakov (east of Ramallah) – the settlement was established as “compensation” for the settlers of the Migron outpost, which was established on private Palestinian land and evacuated by order of the High Court of Justice.
Shvut Rachel – currently considered a neighborhood of Shilo (between Ramallah and Nablus) – was established as an illegal outpost in the 1990s and was legalized as “a neighborhood” of Shilo.
Ovnat (near the Dead Sea) – was established without independent status, probably as a neighborhood of the settlement of Kalya.
Brosh/Bitronot (in the northern Jordan Valley) – the excuse for the outpost’s legalization was that it was an “educational institution”. Peace Now filed an objection to the plan, claiming, among other things, that it is going to be in fact, a new settlement. The objection was rejected and the official decision was to establish only an educational institution.
Leshem – currently considered a neighborhood of Alei Zahav (Salfit area) – Alei Zahav was a secular settlement for years. In order to succeed in bringing more people to the settlement, its expansion was marketed as a new settlement, by the name of Leshem, for the religious public, while officially it was considered a neighborhood of Alei Zahav.
Nofei Nehemia (south of Nablus) – the Nofei Nehemia outpost was legalized together with the outpost of Rachelim, as a “neighborhood” of Rachelim.
Tal Menashe (northwest of Jenin) – The Tal Menashe outpost was established as a religious settlement and was officially designated as a “neighborhood” of the secular settlement of Hinanit.
Ibei Hanahal (southeast of Bethlehem) – The Ibei Hanahal outpost was designated as a “neighborhood” of the Ma’ale Amos settlement.
Geva’ot (southwest of Bethlehem) – The settlement was formally designated as a “neighborhood” of Alon Shvut, which is about 3 km away.