Illegal Israeli settlers set up new outpost in occupied West Bank
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Illegal settlers have built a new outpost near Nablus as attacks escalate across the West Bank, with 466 incidents recorded in July alone, killing four Palestinians.
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The Palestinian village of Burqa is seen as an Israeli flag is placed in the illegal settlement outpost of Homesh on January 17, 2022. (AP)
Illegal Israeli settlers established a new settlement outpost in the northern occupied West Bank, local sources reported Saturday.
According to the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, bulldozing work began at the new site near the Shakara Bedouin community east of Duma town, south of Nablus. The outpost was set up Friday, just 400 meters from the Bedouin community.
Escalating settler violence
In a separate incident, settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones near the Shavei Shomron settlement on the road linking Jenin and Nablus, causing damage, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.
In the south, local activist Osama Makhmareh said settlers drove herds of livestock into the Palestinian community of Al-Fakheit in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil.
“They let their sheep loose among the trees and crops to destroy them, provoke Palestinian residents, and prevent them from taking their own flocks out of pens, in a scene that has become a daily occurrence,” Makhmareh said.
Meanwhile, in Hebron city, "Israeli" forces forced shop owners in the Old City to close their businesses and restricted residents’ movement to facilitate a settler incursion.
466 settler attacks in July
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission documented 466 settler attacks in July alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians and the forced displacement of two Bedouin communities — around 50 families.
Since the beginning of the second year of genocide in Gaza in October 2023, at least 1,014 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by "Israeli" forces and settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion declaring "Israel’s" occupation of Palestinian territory illegal, urging the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.
Smotrich says 'Israel' set to expand E1 settlements
Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister of "Israel", approved moving forward with the E1 settlement plan, a controversial construction project that had been delayed for years and would effectively cut off east occupied al-Quds from the remaining parts of the occupied West Bank.
Smotrich declared that "the plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state," characterizing it as the "final nail in the coffin" for Palestinian statehood.
Smotrich claimed that the plans had been progressing in full coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "our friends in the United States," stating that "the US administration completely supports our steps in the West Bank."
The announcement drew widespread condemnations from global players, including the European Commission, which asserted that the annexation of West Bank lands is illegal under international law, and reiterated the EU Commission's stance against the displacement and eviction of Palestinians.
