New report shows Netanyahu government has accelerated expansion of Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, laying the groundwork for significant population growth and effective control over large swaths of territory.By David Rosenberg, World Israel NewsIsrael’s government approved 102 new or newly recognized communities in Judea and Samaria and advanced plans for more than 40,000 housing units during its first three years in office, according to a new report by the left-wing organizations Peace Now and Kerem Navot.The 72-page report, titled Annus Mirabilis: Actions by the Israeli Government to Annex the West Bank, 2023–2025, was dated May and released publicly last week.The authors characterized the government’s actions as “de facto annexation,” pointing to policies strengthening Jewish settlement, improving security and infrastructure and reinforcing Israel’s long-term presence in Judea and Samaria.According to the report, six Cabinet decisions between February 2023 and March 2026 approved 102 Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, including both the establishment of new towns and the retroactive recognition of existing settlements.The total comprises 50 new communities, 15 neighborhoods of existing communities that were granted or slated to receive independent status, and 37 previously unauthorized outposts which were given full recognition.The decisions included nine communities approved in February 2023, five in June 2024, 13 in March 2025, 22 in May 2025, 19 in December 2025 and 34 in March 2026.The inclusion of the March 2026 decision means that part of the report’s settlement count extends beyond the 2023–2025 period named in its title.The report also found that plans for 40,064 housing units were advanced during the government’s first three years. That figure refers to units moving through one or more stages of the planning process and does not represent 40,064 completed homes.Peace Now said it avoided counting the same unit twice when a plan received both preliminary and final approval during the period.In 2025 alone, plans for 27,941 units were advanced, more than twice the previous annual record, according to the report.Its authors estimated that the three-year total could eventually accommodate an additional 160,000 to 200,000 residents.Once completed, those housing units could fuel significant population growth in Judea and Samaria, where the Israeli population as of January 2026 was 541,085, according to a report by settlement activist and former MK Yaakov Katz.The accelerated planning followed changes approved by the government in June 2023, including the removal of the requirement that the defense minister personally approve each stage of a settlement plan.The government later authorized the Higher Planning Council to meet weekly rather than several times a year, allowing projects to move through the approval process more regularly.The report also documented the establishment of 185 outposts between 2023 and 2025, including approximately 130 agricultural farms and hilltop communities.Some were established independently, while others received infrastructure, security equipment or other forms of public support before completing formal authorization procedures.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds authority over civilian affairs in Judea and Samaria through a ministerial position in the Defense Ministry, welcomed the findings rather than disputing them.Smotrich posted a photograph Tuesday showing him smiling while holding the report.“Peace Now report. A moment of satisfaction this morning,” he wrote.Peace Now and Kerem Navot estimated that agricultural outposts now maintain an effective presence across more than 1.07 million dunams, or approximately 18% of Judea and Samaria.That calculation includes grazing zones and farm land, rather than only the built-up boundaries of the farms. Approximately 40% of the territory included in the estimate is classified by the Civil Administration as state land, according to the report.The organizations also identified at least 223 kilometers of new dirt roads opened since the government took office, as well as upgrades to dozens of kilometers of existing routes. The roads provide access to farms, outposts, security positions and agricultural areas.The report cited plans for extensive investment in larger transportation projects serving Israeli communities, including bypass roads and upgrades to Routes 45, 60, 55, 505 and 446.Supporters of the projects say better roads reduce travel times, improve emergency access and allow Israeli and Palestinian traffic to be separated at dangerous junctions. Peace Now argues that the network will make additional settlement growth possible.The report also said Israel declared 25,959 dunams as state land from 2023 through 2025, which it described as nearly half the total area declared state land since the Oslo process began.A state-land declaration does not by itself establish a community or authorize construction. It determines that the Civil Administration does not recognize valid private ownership over the designated parcel, subject to an objections process.The government also allocated NIS 244 million to renew systematic land-registration proceedings in Judea and Samaria. Government supporters say registration will clarify ownership and reduce legal uncertainty, while Peace Now claimed that Palestinians lacking proof of ownership could lose claims to land.Another major change covered by the report was the transfer of broad civilian responsibilities from the military chain of command to the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry, which operates under Smotrich.The transferred responsibilities include planning, infrastructure, land management, enforcement, archaeology and nature reserves.Smotrich previously described the administrative overhaul as “changing the system’s DNA.” He has said the goal is to provide Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria with government services comparable to those received by citizens elsewhere in Israel and to reduce bureaucracy surrounding construction and infrastructure.The report also cited Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock as describing the government’s broader policy in a December 2025 television interview.“In three years, we are correcting thirty years of the damage caused by the Oslo Accords,” Strock said.The government has also restored an Israeli presence in parts of northern Samaria evacuated during the 2005 disengagement.The Knesset repealed provisions that had barred Israelis from returning to Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim, although the legal and planning status of the locations varies.This week, the Samaria Regional Council established a caravan neighborhood in Ganim, the first time buildings have been set up in the community since its recent reestablishment.The post Israel created 102 new settlements, advanced homes for 200,000 residents in Judea & Samaria since 2023 – report appeared first on World Israel News.