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Here’s What You Should Know About Israeli Settlements
Whether in the mainstream media, academia, or a casual conversation among friends, any discussion of Israeli politics inevitably brings up the issue of “Israeli settlements.”
But while the term “Israeli settlements” has entered the popular lexicon, how much does the average person really know about them?
Let’s take a look at the history of the Israeli settlements from their genesis in 1967 until today.
The First Settlements (1967-1968)
In June 1967, Israel fought a defensive war against the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. After six days of fighting, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) emerged victorious and not only pushed back the enemy militaries, but also gained control over large swathes of territory: the Sinai Desert and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan.
Soon after the war ended, Israelis began to undertake grassroots initiatives to establish communities in these new territories. These Israelis viewed this community-building as a continuation of the pioneering spirit that had infused the Jewish community before the creation of the State of Israel.
Most of these early settlements, which were few in number, were established in areas that were designated as being of strategic value by the Alon Plan, in order to keep Israel safe.
The Alon Plan, which was conceived by the Israeli Minister of Labor Yigal Alon between June and July 1967, was a program whereby Israel would maintain control over certain parts of the West Bank (primarily the Jordan Valley, Gush Etzion, and eastern Jerusalem) in order to protect itself from future Jordanian attacks. The rest of the territory would either go to Jordan or a Palestinian administration.
According to the vision of the Alon Plan, the newly founded settlements would serve as advanced positions that would help secure these new defensible borders.
In addition to security considerations, some of the early settlements were established on the sites of Jewish communities that had been depopulated during periods of violence, particularly during the Arab insurgency (1947-1948) and the Israeli War of Independence.
For example, Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, one of the first settlements to be established, was set up in September 1967 by children of the original residents of the kibbutz, who had largely been killed in a Jordanian-led massacre in May 1948.
The Second Wave of the Settlements (1968-1980)
In 1968, a group of religious families attempted to set up a community in the ancient city of Hebron, which had been emptied of its Jewish population following the 1929 Hebron Massacre. This group ultimately became the nucleus of the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba and, later, the re-established Jewish community of Hebron.
This attempt heralded the “second wave” of settlement building, which was more ideologically driven and viewed the establishment of Jewish communities as a national and religious imperative, due to the status of Judea and Samaria (the traditional Jewish name for the West Bank) as the birthplace of the Jewish people.
In 1974, the Gush Emunim (“Bloc of the Faithful”) movement was officially established as a grassroots organization that would work towards setting up new Jewish communities across Judea and Samaria.
Following the election of Menachem Begin’s right-wing government in 1977, the Israeli government became more amenable to the establishment of Jewish communities across the West Bank.
However, this does not mean that Israelis were given carte blanche to set up settlements anywhere they saw fit.
In a now-famous 1979 incident, the Israeli government was compelled by the Supreme Court to move the nascent community of Elon Moreh six miles (10 kilometers) down the road following an appeal brought by Arab residents of a nearby village.
Settlement Growth, Settlement Freezes, and Settlement Destruction
Since the 1970s, there have been periods of settlement growth within Judea and Samaria as well as periods of construction freezes, particularly during periods of peace negotiations with the Palestinians and other neighboring Arab countries.
Due to the freeze on founding new settlements since the Oslo peace process, outposts were built by those who wished to create new communities in Judea and Samaria but did not have the permission of the Israeli government. Since the mid-1990s, several of these outposts have been recognized by the Israeli government as official settlements.
On occasion, the Israeli government has also uprooted Jewish communities in the West Bank, including four that were dismantled as part of the disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the Amona settlement that was evacuated between 2006 and 2017.
For further information on settlements, outposts, and settlement blocs, see Blocs, Towns & Outposts: What Are the Settlements?
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Here’s What You Should Know About Israeli Settlements first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.