Netanyahu Moves to Entrench West Bank Settlement Expansion Before Elections

The Israeli government is accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem ahead of elections, according to a report, in a drive to establish changes that would be difficult for a future government to reverse.

The report presents the push under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an effort to secure lasting results on the ground before voters go to the polls.

At the heart of that effort is the expansion of settlements, with the government seeking to make its policies endure beyond the current electoral cycle.

The report’s central warning is that any incoming Israeli government would face a landscape already reshaped by those decisions, limiting its ability to roll them back.