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Settlements Approved During the Iran War

On the last day of February 2026 the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran. Americans watched missiles, oil prices, and the Strait of Hormuz. In the West Bank, something else happened at the same time: Israel's government approved a record batch of new settlements, in secret, at Washington's request that it be kept quiet, and then announced it two days after a ceasefire with Iran was declared. This page lays out what was approved, when, and what the timing tells an American reader about what the war was covering.

A record batch, approved in secret​

On 9 April 2026, Israel announced approval of 34 new settlements in the West Bank, which The Globe and Mail described as "supposedly permanent," while the war with Hezbollah continued, "badly undermining the ceasefire with Iran that Mr. Trump had announced 48 hours earlier" (Globe and Mail, 24 April 2026).

Israel's news site Ynet reported the story behind the approval. As summarized by an account that posted the report the same day:

  • "Israel's cabinet quietly approved a record 34 West Bank settlements, inc in remote northern areas rarely accessed by its army, pushing the territory closer to annexation."
  • "The secret meeting occurred in March, with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warning that the army is already overstretched & cannot support new expansion."
  • "The settlement expansion plan was kept secret at the request of the US, according to Ynet."
  • Smotrich "is seeking to 'blur borders' between Areas A, B & C in the West Bank to lay the groundwork for further land grabs."

(David Z on X, 9 April 2026)

Read those lines as an American parent. In March 2026 American forces were at war with Iran. In that same month Israel's cabinet met in secret to approve new settlements, its own army chief said the army was too stretched to protect them, and the United States asked that the decision be hidden. That is what "the public is told nothing is happening" looks like in practice.

The count, in context​

A widely shared summary in May 2026 put it this way: "54 illegal settlements were approved in 2025 alone — a record high — plus another 34 in a single secret batch during the Iran war" (The Vanguard on X, 19 May 2026). Outlook India, writing in April 2026, noted that "The Greater Israel theory has been getting increased media attention since the US-Israel war on Iran began," that Israel "has ordered over 30 new illegal settlements already in Palestinian territory," and that critics expected it would now try to hold southern Lebanon; the same week, Smotrich spoke of expanding Israel's borders to the Litani River (Outlook India on X, 13 April 2026).

The inauguration where Smotrich laid out that border program was itself a new West Bank settlement, Ma'oz Tzur, on 9 April 2026: "There will be expansion in Gaza that will extend our borders. In Lebanon, to the Litani, in Syria, Mount Hermon, parts of the north, south, and east" (X trending summary, 9 April 2026). Eleven families, including army reservists, moved into the outpost that day. The Knesset speaker, Amir Ohana, attended. So the same day, at the same ceremony, the government opened a West Bank settlement and announced new borders in two other countries. See Smotrich in 2026.

Violence rose with the war​

Responsible Statecraft, reporting on a congressional delegation's visit, wrote: "Since the war with Iran began, settler violence has escalated further, averaging more than six attacks per day" (Responsible Statecraft, 29 May 2026). Two members of Congress who visited in February 2026 reported systematic "forced emigration" of Palestinians by extremist settlers and the army. On 28 April 2026 a video showed Israeli soldiers standing guard while settlers set fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles in Deir Dibwan (Richard on X, 28 April 2026). Details: Settler Violence and the Emptied Villages.

A new law in the same weeks​

According to the same account of the Ynet report, a death-penalty law was adopted on 30 March 2026, in the same weeks the expansion plans were approved. As that account describes it, it creates two tracks: Israeli civilian courts "may" impose death for killings aimed at "negating the existence of Israel," while West Bank military courts "must" impose death for killings classified as terrorism, with a 90-day execution timeline (David Z on X, 9 April 2026). India Today Global reported that Israel passed a law to hang Palestinians, "with Ben-Gvir reportedly celebrating" (India Today Global on X, 31 March 2026).

The pattern continued after the war​

What it means​

The critic Thamar Xandra Loi put the logic plainly in March 2026: removing Iran's government "doesn't magically end 'endless wars.' On the contrary, it clears the path for Greater Israel ambitions," pointing to "Huge surge in illegal settlements" in the West Bank "happening under war distraction" (Thamar Xandra Loi on X, 11 March 2026). The wider argument that the Iran war serves Greater Israel is on Why the Iran War Serves Greater Israel.

Evidence rating: settlement approvals accelerated during and immediately after the Iran war, and were kept quiet at Washington's request: STRONG (Globe and Mail on the timing; Ynet on the secrecy, as reported).

Status: Bezalel Smotrich, Eyal Zamir, Amir Ohana, and Itamar Ben Gvir are alive. Nothing on this page states that any of them committed a crime.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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