Israeli Settlers Expand Illegal Outposts in West Bank Amid Surge in Violence

West Bank, MINA – Illegal Israeli settlers have established a new outpost in the northern occupied West Bank, marking the latest escalation in Israel’s relentless land grab across Palestinian territories.

According to Anadolu Agency, the construction, which began Friday just 400 meters from the vulnerable Shakara Bedouin community near Duma town, saw bulldozers clearing Palestinian land throughout Saturday under armed guard.

The Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights condemned the move as part of Israel’s systematic annexation strategy, coming just weeks after the International Court of Justice ruled all settlements violate international law.

The new outpost emerges amid a disturbing surge in settler terrorism, with July alone witnessing 466 documented attacks – an average of 15 daily assaults on Palestinian lives and property.

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In the northern West Bank, masked settlers hurled rocks at Palestinian vehicles along the Jenin-Nablus highway near Shavei Shomron settlement, shattering windshields and injuring several drivers.

Further south in Hebron’s Masafer Yatta region, settlers deployed a cruel new tactic – releasing herds of sheep to deliberately destroy Palestinian crops and block farmers from accessing their own grazing lands.

“This is economic warfare disguised as pastoral activity,” said local activist Osama Makhmareh, noting such incidents now occur daily with military complicity.

Hebron’s Old City became a ghost town Saturday as Israeli troops forced shopkeepers to shutter businesses while escorting armed settlers through Palestinian neighborhoods. The coordinated operations reflect what human rights groups describe as a “two-pronged strategy”, formal settlement expansion coupled with relentless terror campaigns to depopulate Palestinian areas.

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The violence has claimed 1,014 Palestinian lives in the West Bank since October, with July’s toll including four killings and the ethnic cleansing of two entire Bedouin communities. These developments directly challenge the ICJ’s landmark July 2024 ruling demanding Israel dismantle all settlements, exposing the international community’s failure to enforce its own legal judgments. []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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