Animated map shows spread of illegal Israeli settlements across Palestine

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s visual explainer, published Sept. 14, 2026, maps the expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and links that growth to a sharp rise in settler violence. The piece says roughly 750,000 Israelis now live in more than 500 illegal settlements and outposts, with the largest concentration in areas captured by Israel in 1967.

The article cites Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group, for figures showing at least 163 illegal settlements in total: 148 in the West Bank and 15 in East Jerusalem. It says these communities range from small hilltop outposts to large towns connected by roads, bypass routes and infrastructure that fragment Palestinian land and restrict movement. Al Jazeera also highlights E1, east of Jerusalem, where a 2025 approval for more than 3,000 housing units drew broad international criticism because of concerns it would further divide Palestinian territory.

The explainer also discusses how some outposts are built without formal authorization but can later be legalized or absorbed into nearby settlements. It notes that settlement building has continued alongside government-backed planning, with nearly 28,000 housing units advanced in 2025 within existing West Bank settlements.

In a second major theme, Al Jazeera says settler attacks on Palestinians have risen to record levels, according to UN OCHA data. The article says these incidents, increasingly described by experts and some officials as pogroms, reflect a wider pattern of violence tied to settlement expansion and the broader conflict over land and sovereignty.