WEST BANK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Israeli occupation authorities have established seven illegal settlement outposts in the past six months in the West Bank on lands classified as Area B, which is supposed to be under the Palestinian Authority’s administrative control, an Israeli rights group said on Sunday.
The Israeli organization, Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, said on its website, on Sunday, “For the first time since Oslo Accords, seven outposts were established in West Bank Area B.”
It explained that five of these outposts were built on a large area of land east and southeast of Bethlehem city which is located within Area B, where Palestinians are prohibited from construction.
According to the organization, one of the other two settlement outposts was established east of the Ofra settlement in the central West Bank, on land owned by residents of the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud.
The other outpost is located to the north near the Shilo settlement, south of the illegal settlement outpost of Adei Ad. It was built on the lands of the Palestinian villagers of Turmus Ayya.
Peace Now pointed out that some Palestinians were displaced from these areas because of repetitive attacks of Israeli settlers who seized their homes later.
The international community, including the UN, considers these settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The number of settlers in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, has surged to more than 750,000 settlers residing in more than 170 settlements, in addition to hundreds of outposts.
Settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories has witnessed a significant upsurge since the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in December 2022.
