Israel continues its illegal expansion and will build nearly 800 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israel continues its expansionist plan despite sanctions and divisions with its allies. He Civil Administration Planning Board, The Israeli body which manages administrative affairs in the occupied West Bank approved this Wednesday the construction of 764 housing units in the colonies of this Palestinian territory.

This raises 29,300 houses in West Bank settlementsall illegal under international law, approved by Israel in 2025, according to the Israeli NGO Peace Now, which it described as a “historic record”.

The peace organization had already warned on December 4 of the vote on the project: “Since November 2024, the High Planning Council has held weekly meetings to advance construction projects in the settlements. The move to a weekly approval process not only normalizes construction in the (Palestinian) territories, but accelerates it.”

“Expropriation and total control”

The approved plans provide for the construction of 230 housing units in Beitar Illit (south), 478 in Hashmonaim (center) and 56 in Givat Zeev (center).

Both the presidency of Palestinian National Authority, which rules in limited areas of the West Bank due to Israeli occupation, like the Islamist group Hamaswhich rules over the half of Gaza which is not under Israeli military domination, They condemned the measure.

The spokesperson for the ANP presidency, Abu Rudeinastressed that “the occupation government is responsible for the serious repercussions of this destructive policy intended to inflame the area, leading it into a cycle of violence and wars and undermine all efforts aimed at pulling the region out of the spiral of violence.

Hamas called the expansion of construction in the West Bank a new “step” in Israel’s policy aimed at “expropriate land and impose total control” on this territory.

“This colonial decision, as well as previous ones, constitutes a dangerous escalation and a blatant challenge to international law and relevant Security Council resolutions,” the Islamist group continued.

More than 700,000 settlers

If the colonies are legal under Israeli law, unlike the “outposts”, the beginning of a colony, which the government ends up regularizing, they are all illegal under international law.

In the summer of 2024, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to dismantle all of its settlements in the West Bank and remove more than 503,700 settlers, according to United Nations data, who reside there.

In addition, Another 233,600 settlers live in East Jerusalem,also occupied since 1967.