Photos show Israeli settlers celebrating settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank

NOA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers celebrating the holiday of Sukkot gathered this week in Noa, a newly established settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Together, they prayed and then, under military protection, marched toward Kadim, one of four settlements evacuated by Israel in 2005 and re-established this year.

Settlers inaugurated Noa in August on a hilltop southeast of Jenin. Its establishment is part of a state-backed plan to erect 19 settlements around the Palestinian city, a move that will further consolidate Israeli control over occupied land.

Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 Mideast war. Since then, it has built a network of settlements that is now home to more than 500,000 Israelis, on land Palestinians seek for a future, independent state.

Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal. In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that Israel must cease all new settlement activity and “evacuate all settlers” from the occupied West Bank.

Israel disputes this, citing security concerns and historical and religious ties to the territory. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the most far-right in Israel's history, has presided over a rapid expansion of settlements and emboldened right-wing settlers who have attacked and displaced Palestinian communities.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.