On Wednesday, 10 December 2025, the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration is set to discuss plans for 765 housing units across the West Bank.
Three of the four plans are scheduled for approval following their deposit hearings, which took place in 2025. This represents a very rapid approval pace, even compared to the rate at which plans are approved within Israel.
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 29,311 housing units. All time record.
Settlement Plans Overview
|
Settlement |
Plan Number | Plan Status | Number of Units |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/א/ 2/1 | Validation | 230 |
| Eli | 237/16 | Deposit | 1 |
| Hashmonaim | 232/3 | Validation | 478 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/26/2/1 | Validation | 56 |
|
765 |
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.