Settlers
Who the roughly 540,000 Israelis in West Bank settlements are, where they live, and why they vote as three different blocs rather than one.
- Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit: largest list in 74
- Likud: largest list in 28
- Yesh Atid: largest list in 9
- United Torah Judaism: largest list in 5
- Shas: largest list in 4
- Jewish Home: largest list in 1
- Labor: largest list in 1
- Tie: largest list in 1
- The Green Line
Open the vote map on the leading list in each locality, 2022
Every settlement, by valid votes
| Locality | Valid votes | Largest list |
|---|---|---|
| Modi'in Illit | 26,655 | United Torah Judaism, 77.5% |
| Beitar Illit | 23,688 | United Torah Judaism, 59.4% |
| Ma'ale Adumim | 19,602 | Likud, 42.7% |
| Givat Ze'ev | 9,663 | Shas, 25.4% |
| Ariel | 9,420 | Likud, 40.6% |
| Efrat | 5,783 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 48.1% |
| Oranit | 5,064 | Yesh Atid, 29.1% |
| Karnei Shomron | 4,732 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 54.4% |
| Alfe Menashe | 4,402 | Likud, 30.8% |
| Sha'ar Shomron | 4,162 | Likud, 34.8% |
| Kochav Yaakov | 4,016 | Shas, 39.9% |
| Kiryat Arba | 3,249 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 67.4% |
| Beit Arye-Ofarim | 2,754 | Likud, 41.2% |
| Beit El | 2,698 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 83.2% |
| Geva Binyamin | 2,556 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 33.5% |
| Har Adar | 2,355 | Yesh Atid, 33.3% |
| Elkana | 2,251 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 52.3% |
| Talmon | 2,113 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 84.9% |
| Kedumim | 2,060 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 72.7% |
| Kefar Adummim | 1,989 | Likud, 29.4% |
| Immanu'el | 1,932 | Shas, 41.6% |
| Shilo | 1,769 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 82.0% |
| Ale Zahav | 1,717 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 57.1% |
| Eli | 1,686 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 75.3% |
| Allon Shevut | 1,682 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 47.7% |
| Tekoa | 1,675 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 44.7% |
| Hashmona'im | 1,640 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 44.5% |
| Ganne Modi'in | 1,532 | Shas, 46.1% |
| Ofra | 1,478 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 69.0% |
| Kefar HaOranim | 1,290 | Yesh Atid, 43.0% |
| Na'ale | 1,217 | Likud, 37.4% |
| Zufim | 1,203 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 37.4% |
| El'azar | 1,201 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 53.6% |
| Revava | 1,195 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 86.0% |
| Newe Daniyyel | 1,154 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 50.3% |
| Berakha | 1,129 | Likud, 50.6% |
| Yaqir | 1,098 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 63.1% |
| Mevo Horon | 1,079 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 77.6% |
| Mizpe Yeriho | 1,075 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 72.2% |
| Kokhav HaShahar | 1,071 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 86.0% |
| Barqan | 1,053 | Likud, 46.6% |
| Avne Hefez | 1,044 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 69.4% |
| Noqedim | 1,022 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 48.8% |
| Pedu'el | 974 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 78.1% |
| Nili | 960 | Likud, 34.0% |
| Pesagot | 901 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 79.7% |
| Ma'ale Mikhmas | 833 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 64.9% |
| Har Gillo | 778 | Likud, 39.8% |
| Brukhin | 772 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 81.9% |
| Almon | 771 | Likud, 48.1% |
| Qedar | 753 | Likud, 49.4% |
| Elon More | 717 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 86.8% |
| Beit Horon | 717 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 45.7% |
| Dolev | 692 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 75.1% |
| Hinnanit | 682 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 54.8% |
| Sal'it | 655 | Yesh Atid, 51.9% |
| Giv'on HaHadasha | 646 | Likud, 34.4% |
| Yizhar | 645 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 86.0% |
| Neve Tsuf | 630 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 71.1% |
| Ma'ale Efrayim | 627 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 38.3% |
| Suseya | 596 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 80.4% |
| Bat Ayin | 594 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 73.2% |
| Kefar Tappuah | 525 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 78.1% |
| Itamar | 492 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 87.2% |
| Shaqed | 490 | Likud, 33.9% |
| Nofim | 468 | Likud, 42.1% |
| Shave Shomeron | 466 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 73.6% |
| Enav | 459 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 63.2% |
| Kefar Ezyon | 438 | Jewish Home, 32.0% |
| Rosh Zurim | 433 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 49.0% |
| Karme Zur | 428 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 80.1% |
| Tene | 416 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 46.6% |
| Kiryat Netafim | 388 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 67.8% |
| Mattityahu | 374 | United Torah Judaism, 73.3% |
| Shim'a | 369 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 58.8% |
| Rehelim | 363 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 85.4% |
| Mezadot Yehuda | 361 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 79.2% |
| Rimmonim | 360 | Likud, 42.8% |
| Ma'ale Levona | 351 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 85.8% |
| Asfar | 350 | United Torah Judaism, 41.1% |
| Otni'el | 346 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 71.1% |
| Shadmot Mehola | 340 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 71.8% |
| Ma'ale Amos | 324 | United Torah Judaism, 48.5% |
| Sansana | 292 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 51.4% |
| Mehola | 287 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 51.9% |
| Eshkolot | 284 | Likud, 33.1% |
| Haggay | 280 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 84.3% |
| Nahali'el | 264 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 55.3% |
| Ateret | 264 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 81.8% |
| Mevo Dotan | 242 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 55.0% |
| Qalya | 237 | Yesh Atid, 32.9% |
| Ma'on | 228 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 89.9% |
| Migdalim | 226 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 65.0% |
| Hebron | 215 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 88.4% |
| Karmel | 215 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 86.0% |
| Pene Hever | 211 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 84.4% |
| Peza'el | 209 | Likud, 34.9% |
| Adora | 207 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 52.7% |
| Beit HaArava | 202 | Likud, 22.8% |
| Wered Yeriho | 199 | Likud, 37.7% |
| Negohot | 195 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 85.6% |
| Tomer | 193 | Yesh Atid, 27.5% |
| Gittit | 191 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 52.9% |
| Mizpe Shalem | 190 | Yesh Atid, 17.9% |
| Rehan | 184 | Yesh Atid, 27.2% |
| Yitav | 182 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 67.0% |
| Telem | 180 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 75.6% |
| Migdal Oz | 167 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 44.3% |
| Massu'a | 156 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 38.5% |
| Hermesh | 136 | Likud, 42.6% |
| Netiv HaGedud | 136 | Labor, 29.4% |
| Hemdat | 121 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 60.3% |
| Almog | 110 | Yesh Atid, 34.5% |
| Na'ama | 110 | Likud, 31.8% |
| Beqa'ot | 104 | Likud, 35.6% |
| Hamra | 103 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 33.0% |
| Yafit | 101 | Likud, 37.6% |
| Mekhora | 95 | Likud, 24.2% |
| Gilgal | 94 | Likud, 29.8% |
| Maskiyyot | 88 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 90.9% |
| Ammihay | 86 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 80.2% |
| Ro'i | 86 | Tie, 29.1% |
| Rotem | 80 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, 36.3% |
| Argaman | 74 | Likud, 37.8% |
Source: Central Elections Committee, results by locality, 2022; settlements are the localities with CBS codes 3400–3899 (124 in the file, 1 without coordinates and not drawn). Double-envelope votes, mostly soldiers', have no locality and are not here. Outline and Green Line: OCHA.
Facts checked October 5, 2026. Every number shows its source and date.
"Settlers" is a cross-cutting group: it is defined by where people live, not by religion or origin. It takes in Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) families in large towns a few kilometers over the Green Line, commuters in suburban towns near Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and national-religious communities deep in the occupied West Bank. The usual shorthand, 36% Haredi, 36% religious Zionist and 28% secular, is the settler leadership's own estimate, from the Yesha Council in May 2023. Newer counts confirm only the Haredi third.
Size, growth and geography
On January 1, 2026, 541,085 Jews lived in West Bank settlements, not counting East Jerusalem (Interior Ministry population registry, compiled by former National Union MK Yaakov Katz for Bet El Institutions, which he founded, January 2026). That is 5.32% of Israel's population (JNS, February 2026). Counting the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem as well, the total is "over 750,000" in 147 settlements (EU, 2025 settlements report). Israel does not treat those neighborhoods as settlements; the EU, the UN and Peace Now do.
Israeli Jewish residents of West Bank settlements.
Source: Population registry (Bet El Institutions); EU EEAS, 2025–2026. Two sources, two definitions. Israel does not count East Jerusalem neighborhoods as settlements; the EU, the UN and Peace Now do. The registry compilation is published by Bet El Institutions, founded by former National Union MK Yaakov Katz; it is the only 2026 count found.
The settler population grew 2.2% in 2025, double Israel's 1.1% (registry compilation, January 2026). The growth is not where an American reader might expect. Ma'ale Adumim, the best-known suburban settlement, has stopped growing: 40,943 residents in February 2021, 40,800 in January 2026. Over the same five years the Modi'in Illit bloc grew 13.8%, Beitar Illit 15.7%, Samaria 21.5%, the Jordan Valley 25.8% and Eastern Etzion 35.0% (same source). The growth is in the Haredi cities and in small communities far from the Green Line.
Who they are. Three estimates agree that about a third of settlers are Haredi. They disagree on the rest, partly because they measure different things.
Share of West Bank settlers in each group.
| Estimate | Haredi | Religious | Mixed | Secular |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesha Council, May 2023 (method not stated)Yesha Council, via Times of Israel, 2023-05-12 | 36% | 36% (religious Zionist) | — | 28% |
| Israel Policy Forum, 2025 (by type of settlement)Israel Policy Forum (Gabriel Epstein), 2025-04-16 | 33.5% | 25.4% | 28.8% | 12.2% |
| Registry, Jan 2026 (eight Haredi towns only)Sum of eight Haredi towns in the registry compilation (186,133 of 541,085), this site's arithmetic, 1 Jan 2026 | 34.4% | — | — | — |
Strongest shade: 40%. Source: Yesha Council; Israel Policy Forum; population registry, 2023–2026. Two kinds of estimate. Yesha counts people by religiosity and does not say how. The other two rows give the share of settlers living in each type of settlement, not each person's own religiosity. IPF does not state its data year. The three agree only on the Haredi share, about a third.
Where they live. The two largest settlements, Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit, are Haredi cities in the West Bank. They are counted in settler totals here, but they are covered mainly on the Haredim page. Beitar Illit's mayor said in 2017, "We came here due to the housing distress" (Times of Israel, 2017). Next come suburban settlements (in Israeli usage, "quality-of-life" settlements) such as Ma'ale Adumim, Givat Ze'ev and Ariel. By this site's classification, 26.7% of settlers live in them (registry compilation, January 2026). The remainder live mostly in about 80 other communities, most of them small and national-religious, plus the older farming villages of the Jordan Valley.
Jewish residents by locality.
Source: Interior Ministry population registry, compiled by Yaakov Katz for Bet El Institutions, 1 Jan 2026. Modi'in Illit, in the West Bank, is not Modi'in, the city inside the Green Line.
Outposts. Peace Now, an Israeli group that opposes settlement, counted 86 new outposts in 2025 (Peace Now, February 2026), against a previous record of 26 in 2023 (EU, 2025 report). By the same EU report's count, using Peace Now and Kerem Navot figures, farm outposts "effectively control more than 1,070,000 dunams — approximately 18% of the West Bank." The government approved 104 new or retroactively legalized settlements over its four-year term (Times of Israel, September 28, 2026).
How these towns voted, 2019–2022
These results come from the Central Elections Committee's official locality files, grouped by type of settlement. They show how these towns voted, not how settlers voted. Votes cast by double envelope, mostly by soldiers, are counted nationally, and East Jerusalem cannot be separated from the rest of Jerusalem.
Share of valid votes by locality group, 25th Knesset election. Turnout is a share of eligible voters.
| Settlements | Likud | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit | Shas + UTJ | Yesh Atid + National Unity | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haredi cities (8) | 1.4% | 7.8% | 90.3% | 0.2% | 81.3% |
| Suburban settlements (11) | 34.1% | 23.1% | 12.6% | 19.7% | 71.1% |
| Other settlements, mostly national-religious (80) | 19.3% | 57.3% | 4.0% | 8.3% | 75.3% |
| Jordan Valley villages (25) | 24.9% | 34.2% | 2.2% | 23.5% | 68.3% |
| All settlements (124) | 19.1% | 31.5% | 31.6% | 10.0% | 75.3% |
| Israel | 23.4% | 10.8% | 14.1% | 26.9% | 70.6% |
Strongest shade: 100%; turnout is a share of eligible voters, so it is not shaded. Source: Central Elections Committee locality results; grouping and arithmetic by this site, November 2022. How these towns voted, not how settlers voted. Settlements are CBS locality codes 3400–3899; East Jerusalem is inside Jerusalem's result and is excluded. Soldiers and others who vote by double envelope are counted nationally, not by home locality. The groups are this site's classification (see the list on the page).
In 2022 the settlements voted as three blocs. The Haredi cities gave 90.3% of their vote to Shas and United Torah Judaism. The other, mostly national-religious, settlements gave 57.3% to Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit. The suburban settlements' largest party was Likud, at 34.1% (CEC, 2022). Turnout in all settlements was 75.3%, against 70.6% nationally.
Share of valid votes in all West Bank settlement localities, and in Israel as a whole.
The numbers: How the settlements voted, 2019–2022, against Israel as a whole
| Election | Religious-Zionist lists as they ran | Those lists: settlements / Israel | Likud: settlements / Israel | Shas + UTJ: settlements / Israel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2019Central Elections Committee, 21st Knesset, April 2019 | URWP + New Right + Zehut | 33.8% / 9.7% | 23.1% / 26.5% | 27.4% / 11.8% |
| September 2019Central Elections Committee, 22nd Knesset, September 2019 | Yamina + Otzma Yehudit | 31.6% / 7.8% | 22.5% / 25.1% | 30.5% / 13.5% |
| March 2020Central Elections Committee, 23rd Knesset, March 2020 | Yamina + Otzma Yehudit | 24.5% / 5.7% | 29.9% / 29.5% | 32.1% / 13.7% |
| March 2021Central Elections Committee, 24th Knesset, March 2021 | Religious Zionism + Yamina | 35.2% / 11.3% | 19.4% / 24.2% | 29.2% / 12.8% |
| November 2022Central Elections Committee, 25th Knesset, November 2022 | Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit + Jewish Home | 35.1% / 12.0% | 19.1% / 23.4% | 31.6% / 14.1% |
Source: Central Elections Committee locality results; arithmetic by this site, 2019–2022. How these towns voted. Each list is shown as it ran that year. The national-religious lists changed names and partners every cycle: URWP (2019) joined Jewish Home and Otzma Yehudit; Yamina was the alliance that included Naftali Bennett's New Right; in 2021 Religious Zionism ran Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and Noam together; in 2022 Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit ran as one list. Settlements are CBS locality codes 3400–3899, excluding East Jerusalem and double-envelope votes.
Religious Zionism–Otzma Yehudit, the joint list of two parties the Israel Democracy Institute places on the far right, is settler-heavy but not settler-made. In 2022 settlement localities held 3.9% of Israel's eligible voters and supplied 12.2% of the list's 516,470 votes. In April 2019, the URWP list drew 21.1% of its votes from settlements, and the 2021 Religious Zionism list drew 17.9% (CEC locality files). As the list grew nationally, the settler share of its vote fell: about 92% of the list's growth from 2021 to 2022 came from outside the settlement localities. That story, a shift within the right, is told on the masorti page.
No 2026 poll of settlers' vote intention was found.
What they think on the issues
No settler-specific opinion survey from 2024–26 was found, from any pollster. What exists are breakdowns by religiosity or by vote, which overlap with settlers but are not the same group. The town results above suggest why a single "settler opinion" is hard to state: the Haredi third and the national-religious third vote for different parties, with different priorities.
- The Haredi draft. The Haredi cities vote overwhelmingly for Shas and United Torah Judaism, the two Haredi parties. The national-religious settlements vote for the Religious Zionist lists, whose community's views are set out on the Religious Zionists page. No survey measures either group's view as settlers. See the Haredi draft.
- The West Bank. No settler breakdown exists. Among coalition voters, 50% chose "full annexation without granting civil rights" as their preferred approach, against 25% of all Israelis (INSS, June 16–22, 2026). See the West Bank and annexation.
- Courts, war and hostages, religion and state, the economy. No settler breakdown found. See courts, the war and the hostages, religion and state and the economy.
Who they are
Settler leaders describe the settlements' civil status as unfinished. In 2023, when the population passed half a million, the head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council put it this way:
Unfortunately, even after we've crossed half a million residents, we are still prisoners of a military administration that does not correspond to the reality on the ground.
The same military administration rules the West Bank's Palestinian majority, who, unlike the settlers, have no vote for the Knesset (see who votes, and who doesn't). Since 2023 it has changed for the settlers. Under the coalition's agreements, powers over planning, land, infrastructure and enforcement were, in the EU's words, "transferred from the Civil Administration and the military chain of command to Finance Minister Smotrich and the Settlement Administration" (EU, 2025 report).
Settler violence. UN OCHA counted 1,828 settler attacks causing casualties or damage in 2025, up from 1,189 in 2023 (via the EU, 2025 report). Israeli security officials put those involved at about 300 people, about 70 of them "hardcore." The Israeli rights group Yesh Din found that 93.6% of investigation files from 2005 to 2025 were closed without an indictment (Times of Israel, September 9, 2026). In 2025, by OCHA's count, settlers killed nine Palestinians in the West Bank, and for six more it is unknown whether settlers or Israeli forces killed them; Palestinians killed 17 Israelis in the West Bank, six of them members of Israeli forces (OCHA, Jan 7, 2026).
Incidents in which settlers caused Palestinian casualties or property damage (UN OCHA count).
Source: UN OCHA, via the EU (EEAS) 2025 Report on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, 2023–2025. The IDF's own count of "nationalistic" Jewish incidents moves differently: 1,045 (2023), 682 (2024), 867 (2025), falling in 2024 where OCHA's count rose (JPost, Jan 19, 2026, jpost.com). The two bodies define incidents differently.
Some settlers themselves draw the line between the few hundred and the half million. Israel's ambassador to the United States lives in the settlement of Eli (Jewish Insider, November 2024):
It's a handful of a few hundred people who are staining an entire enterprise — and everyone is silent.
Across the West Bank, 87% of Palestinian residents told the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in August 2026 that they were worried settlement expansion and new outposts would cost them their land or homes (PCPSR, Aug 5–8, 2026). A Palestinian on the receiving end of these attacks sees the state's role differently. "The army comes to protect the settlers," said Luai Beiruti of the village of Qusra (Times of Israel, September 9, 2026).