After a two‑decade ban, Israeli settlers reshaped the former settlement of Kadim in the West Bank, crossing the hilltop with trailers loaded with bedding, furniture and building material. The movement, led by 30 pioneer families from Tel Aviv, was escorted by members of the Israel Defense Forces and marked by the flashing of blue and white flags on the cars.
Kadim had been surrendered to the Palestinian Authority in 2005 as part of the 2005 disengagement plan, a move that removed all Jewish residents and soldiers from the area. The decision to reopen it and the neighbouring settlements Ganim, Sanur and Homesh stems from a government policy that sees settler expansion as a measure tied to the approaching national elections.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oversaw the re‑opening, said at the ceremony that the return was a “correction” of the past expulsion. He used the Biblical term for the northern West Bank, reinforcing the nationalistic tone of the announcement.
Locally, the return of settlers has rattled Palestinians who now see the hilltop as “the hell orchestrated by them” and fear that further infrastructure may narrow their movement. One resident, an old vegetable farmer, recalls watching the original construction of Kadim as a time of coexistence and now warns of bulldozed roads and shuttered businesses.
Internationally, the move has drawn criticism from human rights organisations and from many states that view Israeli outposts as illegal under both Israeli and international law. Amid heightened tensions, the Israeli government claims the expansions are lawful and necessary.
With about 19 new settlements now approved in the northern West Bank since late 2022, the rapid construction signals a broader strategy to entrench a permanent presence before the upcoming elections.
Images capture settlers arriving in large caravans, some trailed behind military vehicles, as the hilltop slowly fills with new houses and life. The visual complexity of this settlement boom reflects the larger geopolitical shift taking place in the region.
