Maximum Territory, Minimum Population: The annexation of the West Bank through settlement, violence and the fragmentation of Palestinian space

In September 2025, Minister Bezalel Smotrich presented a plan to apply Israeli sovereignty over 82% of the West Bank, based on the principle of “maximum territory, minimum population.” The plan seeks to concentrate some three million Palestinians in a number of disconnected enclaves and turn the rest of the territory into an Israeli-only space. This is not merely a political vision for the future, but a policy whose key elements are already being implemented on the ground, particularly since October 2023.

The report’s analysis reveals how Israel utilizes an integrated mechanism of military forces and settlers, backed by the government and shielded by law enforcement authorities, to annex the West Bank. The belligerent, brutal means Israel employs to achieve its ambitions in the West Bank are many, varied and interconnected. This report focuses on three of them:

1. Establishment of settlements and outposts.

2. Violence by soldiers and settlers.

3. Severe movement restrictions.