May 29, 2025: The head of the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, stated that the occupying state’s decision to transform 22 sites and colonial outposts into full colonies not only places it in confrontation with the Palestinian people but also with the entire international community, which condemns settler-colonialism and refuses to recognize or concede to what the occupying state is trying to impose on the ground. Mr. Sha’ban affirmed that the new measure announced by the occupation's cabinet would further entrench settler-colonialism in the Palestinian territories, aiming to tighten control over Palestinian geography and impose yet another layer of apartheid through granting colonizers full privileges at the expense of the Indigenous landowners.
Mr. Sha’ban explained that the newly designated colonial sites include four located in Ramallah Governorate, another four in Jenin Governorate, four in Hebron Governorate, two in Nablus Governorate, one in Salfit Governorate, three in Jericho, three in the Jordan Valley, and the last one on the lands of occupied Jerusalem.
He added that four of these sites are already classified as full colonies in the databases of the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, as the occupation had approved master plans for them in previous years. Three other sites are classified as military areas, one of which is designated as a military observation post. Additionally, three sites are categorized as religious sites. The list also includes two colonies that were evacuated in 2005 under the Disengagement Law, which was implemented and later amended in 2023 to reinstate colonial activity in northern West Bank colonies. Five of the sites are classified as entirely new.
Mr. Sha’ban also pointed out that in the past, the occupying state used deception by announcing the establishment of new colonies under the pretense of merely carrying out expansions. However, it is now revealing its true face to the world, exposing years of lies regarding the seizure of Palestinian land and the violation of the Palestinian people's fundamental rights and national resources.
Mr. Sha’ban further noted that the extremist fascist right-wing government, which from its very first day in power declared that colonial expansion would be a top priority, particularly the legalization of colonial outposts to impose facts on the ground and fragment Palestinian geography, has consistently pursued these plans from day one, aiming to eliminate any possibility for the establishment of a Palestinian state. He simultaneously called on the international community to intervene in a clear, genuine, and effective manner to hold the occupying state accountable for its violations and defiance of international resolutions—most recently the high-level advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the status of occupation and settler-colonialism, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirms the illegality of colonies and the nullity of their consequences on the ground.
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