Israel Builds Seven Illegal Settlements in Palestinian-Owned West Bank
West Bank, MINA – According to Israeli rights groups, Israeli authorities have built at least seven illegal settlement outposts inside Area B of the West Bank, for the first time since the Oslo Accords.
“Five of these outposts were established in areas known as the ‘Agreed Nature Reserves,’ located east and south of Bethlehem,” Peace Now said in a statement on Sunday, Palestine Chronicle reported.
Two additional outposts were established near Ramallah, one south of the Ofra settlement on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, and another on land in the village of Turmus Ayya, south of the Adi Ad outpost and the Amichai settlement, the group said.
Under the 1995 Interim Agreements (Oslo II) between Israel and the Palestinians, “Area B is designated as an area under full Palestinian civilian control (including planning and construction authority), with Israeli security control,” Peace Now explained.
The group said that over the years, successive Israeli governments have refrained from establishing settlements or outposts in areas under Palestinian control. While there have been cases of outposts extending to the fringes of Area B, “these outposts were usually dismantled by the Civil Administration soon after their establishment.”
“As of 2024, 52 outposts were established across the West Bank, with outposts in Area B accounting for about 13.5% of the total,” Peace Now said.
The group noted that after “seizing control of Area C and systematically displacing Palestinians through home demolitions and settler violence, settlers are now turning their attention to Area B.”
It said the Israeli government’s annexation plans are not limited to Area C.
“By allowing settlers to establish outposts deep inside Area B, the government is blatantly violating another essential element of the Oslo Accords. If we do not act today, we will find ourselves returning to full military rule throughout the West Bank,” Peace Now said.
The group stressed that “the phenomenon of settlers expanding into Area B is not new.”
Over the years, settlers have established at least three outposts that encroach into Area B: Kumi Ori near Yitzhar south of Nablus, Ma’ale Rehavam east of Bethlehem, and Havat Gilad west of Nablus.
In these cases, the Civil Administration “demolished structures that extended into Area B, often after legal battles,” Peace Now said.
“However, the new outposts established in 2024 are significantly different. Most of them are located hundreds of meters from the border with Area C, and the Civil Administration has taken almost no action to evacuate them,” it added.
Peace Now’s Settlement Watch team recently documented dozens of homes that once housed Palestinian families but were recently abandoned. Israeli settlers have since taken over some of these homes, the group said.
The 1995 Oslo II Accords divided the West Bank into three zones: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under Palestinian civil and administrative control and Israeli security control, and Area C under Israeli civil, administrative and security control, Anadolu news agency reported.
All of Israel’s illegal settlements are located in Area C of the West Bank, which covers 60% of the West Bank. Israel severely restricts Palestinian construction in the area and demolishes Palestinian homes there on the pretext of not having building permits.
According to Anadolu, Israeli estimates indicate that more than 720,000 Israelis now live in illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Settlement construction has increased significantly since Israel’s right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came to power in December 2022.
The international community, including the United Nations, considers the settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of the two-state solution.
In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling declaring Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories “illegal” and calling for the immediate evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
