Israeli Settlement: Definition, Types, and the Outpost Distinction
Israeli settlements are civilian communities Israel has built in territories occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War, populated almost entirely by Israeli Jewish citizens. They range from large cities to small villages, and are distinct from 'outposts' — settlements built without Israeli government authorization, which are illegal even under Israeli law. Most of the international community considers all settlements a violation of international law.
An Israeli settlement is a civilian community built by Israel in territory it has militarily occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War, populated almost exclusively by Israeli Jewish citizens. The great majority are in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; Israel also maintains communities in the Golan Heights. Settlements formerly existed in the Sinai Peninsula (dismantled by 1982) and the Gaza Strip (dismantled in the 2005 withdrawal). Types Settlements vary widely in size and character. Some are large cities such as Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit, Ma'ale Adumim, and Ariel; others are towns, kibbutzim and moshavim, or small religious-ideological villages. The West Bank contained roughly 130–145 government-authorized settlements in the early 2020s. Settlements versus outposts An important distinction is between authorized settlements and "outposts." Settlements are sanctioned by the Israeli government, though a significant share were built partly on privately owned Palestinian land. Outposts are built without official authorization and are illegal under Israeli law itself; nonetheless, well over a hundred exist, often established on hilltops and sometimes receiving indirect state support. Some outposts have later been retroactively legalized by the Israeli government. Legal status Most of the international community holds that the settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, whose Article 49(6) bars an occupying power from transferring its own civilian population into occupied territory. The United Nations Security Council reaffirmed this in Resolution 2334 (2016), and the International Court of Justice did so in its July 2024 advisory opinion. Israel disputes the legal premise, arguing the West Bank is not "occupied" in the convention's sense because no recognized sovereign held it before 1967. See Israeli Settler: Definition, Geography, and Legal Status.