Animated map shows spread of illegal Israeli settlements across Palestine

Al Jazeera’s animated map traces how Jewish-only settlements and unauthorised outposts have spread across Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, documenting the founding dates and population growth of each community. What began as scattered hilltop outposts before 1948 grew substantially after Israel’s occupation of those territories in 1967, evolving over six decades into an interconnected system of towns, infrastructure and bypass roads that bind settlements to each other and to Israel.

Israeli monitoring group Peace Now estimates there are 163 illegal settlements in the occupied territories — 148 in the West Bank and 15 in East Jerusalem — home to roughly three quarters of a million Israeli residents. Beyond those recognised settlements, the number of unauthorised outposts has risen to more than 400; many of these are later legalised or absorbed into existing settlements, complicating efforts to produce a single definitive tally.

Under international law, such settlements are illegal because they involve the transfer of an occupier’s population into occupied territory, a position reaffirmed by UN bodies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and most recently in the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion. Within Israel’s domestic framework, by contrast, settlements are often planned, funded and sanctioned by the state; outposts are typically established without formal approval but can receive retroactive legalisation.

The settlements vary in size and function: some have grown into large urban centres with municipal services, schools and commercial centres (Modi’in Illit, Beitar Illit and Pisgat Ze’ev are among the largest). Their network of exclusive roads and checkpoints has fragmented Palestinian areas and restricted movement, with projects such as the E1 expansion east of Jerusalem highlighted as particularly consequential for territorial contiguity. In August 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich authorised more than 3,000 homes in the E1 project, a move that drew widespread diplomatic criticism.

Alongside territorial expansion, incidents of settler violence against Palestinians have climbed sharply, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs data, with a marked increase since October 7. Analysts and some UN officials have characterised these coordinated attacks as pogroms, and commentators point to a mix of economic incentives and religious-nationalist motivations — including activist “hilltop” groups — that drive settlement growth and outpost activity. The mapping effort aims to visualise how the advancing footprint of settlements and outposts has reshaped land, access and security for Palestinians on the ground.