Government announces NIS 1.3 billion toward establishing new West Bank settlements

The government formally announces that NIS 1.3 billion ($431 million) was allocated by the security cabinet last month to fund the establishment of dozens of new West Bank settlements approved by the government over the last three and a half years.

The cabinet decision was formulated by the Prime Minister’s Office, and will be implemented by the Settlements Ministry and the Housing and Construction Ministry.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Settlements Minister Orit Strock and Housing and Construction Minister Haim Katz make the announcement, stating that the funds will be used to establish “pioneer neighborhoods” at the sites of newly approved settlements, which will include prefabricated homes, roads and infrastructure.

החלטה היסטורית להתיישבות: אישרנו 1.3 מיליארד ש״ח להקמת עשרות יישובים חדשים ביהודה ושומרון ????????

יחד עם השרה אורית סטרוק, גיבשנו החלטה שתאפשר להקים את היישובים במהירות באמצעות שכונות חלוץ כבר בימים הקרובים, במקביל להליך פיתוח הקבע של היישוב.

בזמן שאיזנקוט ויאיר גולן מתכננים להרוס… pic.twitter.com/K8z91pMcz6

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) July 14, 2026

The government has during its tenure approved 103 new West Bank settlements, an unprecedented number in the history of the settlement movement.

The expedited establishment of the settlements will run in parallel to the usual settlement development process, Smotrich says, and appears designed to establish facts on the ground before any potential new government can reverse or stall the establishment of these settlements.

“We are making sure that the decisions we made regarding the legalization and establishment of new settlements in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] do not remain on paper, but are translated into reality on the ground. One after another, we are passing budgetary government resolutions that allocate funding for roads, for infrastructure, and now also for buildings and caravans,” Smotrich says of the new settlement funding.