OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Israeli authorities advanced 20 new settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem during February, accelerating what Palestinian officials describe as a coordinated effort to reshape the city demographically and geographically.
In its monthly report on violations, the Jerusalem Governorate said the projects were documented through daily monitoring of official Israeli government and Jerusalem municipality announcements.
The plans include new construction, land seizures, and settlement expansion across the city.
According to the report, seven projects were deposited for review, the penultimate stage before final approval, providing for the construction of 613 settlement units on approximately 960 dunums of land.
Five additional plans were approved for 51 units on about 40 dunums, while another tender was issued for 231 units.
Palestinian officials say the pace of approvals and tenders reflects a political strategy aimed at consolidating Israeli control over Jerusalem and limiting prospects for any future two-state solution.
Escalating settler attacks
Alongside settlement expansion, the governorate recorded 47 settler attacks in Jerusalem during February, including nine cases involving physical assault.
One incident resulted in the killing of 20-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siam from the town of Mikhmas, north of the city.
The documented attacks included shootings, arson, road blockades, harassment of shepherds, home invasions and vandalism, as well as assaults on churches, incidents the report says occurred under direct protection of Israeli forces.
The governorate argued that such protection demonstrates coordination between settler groups and Israel’s far-right government to impose new realities on the ground and undermine the existing status quo in Jerusalem.
In a related 2025 annual report, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said Israeli planning committees reviewed 107 structural settlement plans in Jerusalem last year, 41 outside the municipal boundary defined by Israel and 66 within settlements located inside that boundary.
Palestinian officials contend that the acceleration of settlement planning reflects an attempt to capitalize on the current regional and international political climate to entrench broader settlement expansion in Jerusalem.
