Israeli settlements within the occupied West Bank, in addition to settler assaults in opposition to Palestinians sharply elevated underneath the federal government of Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to Israeli media.
The Israeli Channel 12 stated Friday that the West Bank is experiencing an Israeli settlement growth for the reason that formation of Netanyahu’s authorities on the finish of 2022.
The variety of settlements elevated from 128 within the West Bank to 178, representing a few 40% rise, alongside unprecedented demolitions of Palestinian properties, it stated.
The report got here two days after 14 Israeli ministers from Netanyahu’s Likud Party, together with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, signed a letter demanding Netanyahu to annex the occupied territory instantly.
Tel Aviv often reveals little concern for settler assaults on Palestinians; nonetheless, their current assaults on Israeli troopers and law enforcement officials have occupied all Israeli politicians.
Last week, three Palestinians have been killed and 7 others injured in a lethal settler assault in town of Kafr Malik within the central West Bank on June 28.
“The announcement of dozens of new settlements, the unprecedented pace of establishing illegal outposts, the construction of strategic roads, and the large-scale demolition of Palestinian buildings all aim to strengthen Jewish control over the area and effectively eliminate the two-state solution,” the channel stated.
“No government has ever encouraged settlement as much as this one,” Meir Deutsch, CEO of the far-right Regavim motion, was quoted as saying by the channel.
“Israel is managing Judea and Samaria as the homeowner for the first time since the state’s establishment (1948/Palestinian Nakba).”
Settlement outposts
According to the report, at the least 50 new settlements have been introduced within the West Bank for the reason that formation of the present authorities.
“According to research data, 19 of the newly recognized settlements already exist, seven are currently grazing farms, 14 are neighborhoods in settlements, and 10 are settlements only on paper.”
Alongside the “establishment of dozens of new settlements, construction in existing settlements in the West Bank broke records in the past two and a half years, and even more so since early 2025,” the channel stated.
It defined that 41,709 settler properties have been authorised, a quantity exceeding these recorded within the six years previous Netanyahu’s authorities.
According to the channel, the variety of unlawful settlement outposts within the West Bank reached 214 by the top of 2024, of which 66 have been established in the course of the Israeli genocide in Gaza battle.
During the primary two years of the present authorities, the variety of outposts rose by about 300% in comparison with the earlier two years, in response to the channel.
“Most of the illegal outposts established are farming outposts occupying vast areas, with grazing lands currently covering about 787 square kilometers, mostly in central and eastern West Bank.”
The channel famous that the rise in settlement development coincides with the rise within the variety of unlawful settlers, explaining that from 2013 to 2023, the variety of settlers within the West Bank grew by 38%, from 374,000 to 517,000, in response to the information of West Bank settlements council Yesha.
Source: www.dailysabah.com