Lucy Williamson

Israel’s government has reopened Kadim, a Jewish settlement near Jenin that was evacuated in 2005, with dozens of families returning under military escort. The move follows the formal reopening of three other northern West Bank settlements and a broader government push that has approved more than 100 new settlements since late 2022. Palestinians describe intimidation, movement restrictions, land seizures and demolitions, while Israeli officials frame the return as correcting the 2005 evacuation. New military bases and an outpost are also being built around Jenin, raising Palestinian fears that the area could be divided and that settlement expansion will intensify before Israel’s October elections.

Israeli settlers have returned to Kadim near Jenin, the last of four northern West Bank settlements evacuated in 2005, after Israel’s current government overturned the ban on resettlement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other senior officials attended the reopening, while settler leaders said expansion could eventually extend to Gaza. Palestinian residents describe growing fear, harassment, restrictions on movement, land seizures and the demolition of homes, shops and farmland. The government has approved more than 100 settlements since taking power in late 2022, including 19 in the northern West Bank, alongside new military bases and an outpost near Jenin Refugee Camp. The developments are occurring despite international opposition and may be linked to the approaching Israeli elections.