Settlements Threaten Pastures, Palestinian Livelihoods, Report Says

A joint statement released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Environmental Quality Authority on Wednesday revealed that Israeli settlements are encroaching on pastures in the West Bank, threatening the livelihoods of Palestinian pastoral communities. The statement, issued on Arab Environment Day, indicated that pastures constitute approximately 37% of the West Bank's area, totaling around 2,111 square kilometers, with eastern foothills pastures making up 61% of this total. Between 2023 and 2025, 185 new settlement outposts were established, including about 130 pastoral and hilltop outposts, seizing an estimated 1.07 million dunams (about 18% of the West Bank). During 2025 alone, settlers reportedly acquired an additional 300,000 dunams through these outposts, contributing to a total of 231 pastoral outposts and approximately 400 settlement outposts in the West Bank. These settlement activities, along with settler attacks and restrictions on Palestinian access to pastures and water sources, have led to the displacement of 118 Palestinian pastoral communities between 2023 and 2025. By July 2026, the settler population reached about 790,000, residing in 170 settlements and 400 outposts. Israeli control now extends over 42% of the West Bank, including 71% of Area C and 91% of the Jordan Valley. Israeli military orders have allocated 16,200 dunams for settler grazing and legitimized 70 agricultural and pastoral outposts. In 2024, Israeli authorities issued 35 orders to seize 1,073 dunams, five expropriation orders for 803 dunams, and nine orders declaring nearly 24,597 dunams as state land. Additionally, six orders to alter nature reserve boundaries resulted in the seizure of about 20,000 dunams. The shrinking pasturelands and access difficulties force herders to rely more on purchased fodder, increasing livestock costs and threatening family livelihoods. In Gaza, only 4,480 dunams (about 3% of agricultural land) were accessible and undamaged as of June 24, 2026, according to FAO and UNOSAT assessments. This limited agricultural land hinders the resumption of production, fodder availability, and livestock maintenance, exacerbating challenges in income recovery and food security. The statement urged the protection and sustainable management of natural pastures, citing national legal frameworks, and called for enhanced cooperation between national and international institutions to rehabilitate affected areas and preserve Palestinian natural resources and food security.