Israel plans to extend Jerusalem for first time since Six-Day War

The potential expansion is reflected in a housing plan being advanced in the settlement of Adam in the Binyamin region.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel is weighing steps that would effectively extend Jerusalem’s municipal footprint beyond its pre-1967 boundaries for the first time since the Six-Day War.

The potential expansion is reflected in a housing plan being advanced in the settlement of Adam in the Binyamin region.

While formally described as an enlargement of the existing community, the plan would in practice push Jerusalem’s jurisdiction past its pre-1967 lines, creating territorial continuity with the Neve Yaakov neighborhood and amounting to a de facto expansion of the capital.

According to the proposal, several hundred housing units would be built on land located some distance from Adam and currently lacking direct access from the settlement.

The planned access road would start in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood and return to it, a configuration that would extend the city’s municipal boundary beyond its pre-1967 lines for the first time.

The Cabinet on Sunday authorized the launch of a land registration process in Judea and Samaria for the first time since 1967.

Ministers promoting the move said it would allow large tracts of land to be registered as state land available for Israeli development.

The resolution approved an initial budget of NIS 244 million ($79 million) for the years 2026 through 2030 and the creation of 35 positions across government ministries and state agencies to carry out the work in Area C, where Israel maintains full military and civilian control.

The Palestinian presidency condemned the decision, calling it “a de facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Justice Minister Yariv Levin welcomed the Cabinet decision, saying it would provide legal certainty and safeguard national interests.