TNA Staff
The New Arab / August 31, 2025
Israel establishes new Hebron Jewish settlement for first time in decades, as cabinet prepares punitive annexation measures against Palestinians.
Israel announced on Saturday the creation of a new settlement neighbourhood near Hebron /Al-Khalil in the occupied West Bank for the first time in decades.
The has been condemned by Palestinians as part of a broader strategy to entrench total control over the territory and block Palestinian statehood.
The Kiryat Arba settlement council confirmed on Saturday that a new neighbourhood has been established south of Hebron, with 10 Jewish Israeli families moving in over recent days.
The project, located near the Bani Na’im junction, was initiated by the local council in cooperation with the hardline Amana settlement movement, according to the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom.
The new outpost, named “Aviad”, occupies a strategic position on the road linking Hebron with settlements further south in the Hebron Hills.
The Kiryat Arba council said the aim was to “prevent Palestinian geographic continuity from Hebron to the Negev [Naqab] Desert and the eastern borders”, as well as to “strengthen the connection between Kiryat Arba and Ma’ale Hever settlements”.
Israel Bramson, head of the Kiryat Arba council, hailed the establishment as “a historic step that fulfils the vision of generations”, claiming it was “a clear message that Judea [the West Bank] belongs to the people of Israel”.
Kiryat Arba, situated at the eastern entrance of Hebron, is one of the largest and most politically and militarily sensitive settlements in the occupied West Bank. Its expansion has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The announcement comes as Israel’s security cabinet prepares to meet on Sunday to consider a series of punitive measures against Palestinians in response to expected international recognitions of the State of Palestine.
According to Israel’s official broadcaster, citing political sources, measures under discussion include the annexation of parts of the West Bank, the forced removal of the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar east of Jerusalem, and advancing settlement construction in the controversial ‘E1’ area.
The E1 plan is among the most contentious settlement projects in decades.
It seeks to link Jerusalem to settlements such as Ma’ale Adumim by seizing Palestinian land and constructing new settlements, effectively cutting the West Bank in two.
Critics say it would sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and destroy any remaining prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state.
