List of Israeli settlements

Israel in effect annexed East Jerusalem with the Jerusalem Law and considers settlements in the expanded boundaries of East Jerusalem to be neighborhoods of Jerusalem and not settlements. The United Nations Security Council ruled that act "null and void" in United Nations Security Council Resolution 478, and the international community considers East Jerusalem to continue to be held under Israeli occupation.

Israel in effect annexed the Golan Heights with the Golan Heights Law and does not consider the localities established there to be settlements. The United Nations Security Council ruled that act "null and void" in United Nations Security Council Resolution 497 and the international community continues to view the Golan Heights to be Syrian territory held under Israeli occupation.

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, violating the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of a civilian population to or from occupied territory, though Israel disputes this.

The population statistics for Israeli settlements in the West Bank are collected by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. As such, the data contains only population of settlements recognized by the Israeli authorities. Israeli outposts, which are illegal by Israeli law, are not tracked, and their population is hard to establish. All settlements in the West Bank were advised by the International Court of Justice to be unlawful.

As of January 2023, there are 144 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem. In addition, there are over 100 Israeli illegal outposts in the West Bank. In total, over 529,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 246,000 Jewish settlers residing in East Jerusalem.

The construction of the West Bank barrier keeps a significant number of settlements behind it. The total number of settlers east of the barrier lines in 2012 was at least 79,230. By comparison, the number of Gaza Strip settlers in 2005 who refused to move voluntarily and be compensated, and that were forcibly evicted during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, was around 9,000.

City settlements in the West Bank

Five settlements have been given city status. Their combined population is over 240,000, representing around half of the West Bank settler population outside of East Jerusalem.

Other settlements in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem

Several former Israeli outposts have been retroactively "legalized" under Israeli law as "neighborhoods" of formerly existing Israeli settlements:

• Givat Harsina, also called Ramat Mamre, legalized as "neighborhood" of Kiryat Arba
• Kfar Eldad, considered a "neighborhood" of Nokdim
• Kerem Reim, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Talmon
• Leshem, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Alei Zahav
• Neria, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Talmon
• Nofei Nehemia, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Rehelim
• Sdeh Bar Farm, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Nokdim
• Shvut Rachel, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Shilo
• Tal Menashe, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Hinanit
• Yair Farm, retroactively legalized as a "neighborhood" of Yakir

Historic data

Statistics below refer to the period between 1999 and 2018.

East Jerusalem

Following the capture and occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli government effectively annexed the formerly Jordanian occupied territory and extended the Jerusalem municipality borders by adding 70,500 dunams of land with the aim of establishing Jewish settlements and cementing the status of a united city under Israeli control. The Jerusalem Master Plan 1968 called for increasing the Israeli population of Arab East Jerusalem, encircling the city with Israeli settlements and excluding large Palestinian neighborhoods from the expanded municipality. Jerusalem was effectively annexed by Israel in 1980, an act that was internationally condemned and ruled "null and void" by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 478. The international community continues to regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory and Israel's settlements there illegal under international law.

Smaller Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem include Beit Orot, Givat HaMatos, Ma'ale HaZeitim, and Nof Zion.

Historic data

In 1967, construction of Israeli settlements began in the portion of the Golan Heights held by Israel. That area remained under military administration until 1981 when Israel passed the Golan Heights Law extending Israeli law and administration throughout the territory. That 1981 decision was condemned by the United Nations Security Council in UN Resolution 497, which stated that "the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect." Israel maintains it has a right to retain the Golan, citing the text of UN Resolution 242, which calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force". However, the international community rejects Israeli claims to title to the territory and regards it as sovereign Syrian territory.