Israeli Minister Smotrich Vows Increased Palestinian Home Demolitions in 2025
Israel plans to demolish more Palestinian buildings than are built in the West Bank for the first time since 1967.
Watan-Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed on Sunday that 2025 will be the first year since 1967 in which Israel demolishes more Palestinian buildings in the occupied West Bank than are built.
According to Israel’s Channel 7, Smotrich—the leader of the far-right “Religious Zionism” party—stated during a speech at a meeting of the Law Enforcement Unit in the Israeli “Civil Administration” that 2025 will mark the first year since 1967 where demolitions outpace Palestinian construction. He pledged to intensify demolition operations.
Smotrich Vows to Intensify Palestinian Home Demolitions
Smotrich emphasized that the Israeli government will continue to reinforce demolitions and prevent Palestinian construction in areas under Israeli control. He stressed that the 2025 budget will include a significant increase in resources for this effort, including expanding manpower, purchasing new equipment, and developing advanced technologies to monitor Palestinian construction.
He clarified that the issue is not only about cracking down on what he called “illegal” construction but also about ensuring a “complete prevention of Palestinian construction and restoring Israeli control over the land.”
Smotrich asserted that “control over land is the essence of the conflict, and whoever controls the land determines its future.”
His remarks targeted Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control, where Palestinians are prohibited from building or reclaiming land without permits—permits that are nearly impossible to obtain, according to UN reports.
Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israel has intensified its settlement expansion projects in the West Bank as part of efforts to annex the territory, amid official statements rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state—an open challenge to international legitimacy.
The United Nations considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal, as they undermine prospects for resolving the conflict based on a two-state solution, despite repeated calls for their cessation to no avail.
It is worth noting that the Oslo II Accord of 1995 classified the West Bank into three areas:
- Area A: Under full Palestinian control.
- Area B: Under Israeli security control and Palestinian civil administration.
- Area C: Under full Israeli control, making up about 60% of the West Bank.
Escalating Violence and Settlements in the West Bank
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli military and settler attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have escalated, resulting in the killing of 910 Palestinians, the injury of around 7,000 others, and the arrest of 14,300, according to official Palestinian sources.
During this same period, Israeli demolitions targeted 1,359 Palestinian structures in Area C, leading to the displacement of 1,166 Palestinians, according to UN reports.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank reached approximately 770,000 by the end of 2024, distributed across 180 settlements and 256 settlement outposts, including 138 agricultural and pastoral outposts.
Israel continues to occupy territories in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon for decades, refusing to withdraw or allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on pre-1967 war borders.
