WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Illegal Zionist settlers have established a new outpost northwest of Ariha in the eastern West Bank, the fifth in the same area, according to a Palestinian rights group, Anadolu reports.
Illegal settlers erected tents, brought in excavation and leveling equipment, and began fencing off the site in the Muarrajat area in recent days, the al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights said in a statement.
The organization described the outpost as “one of the most dangerous recent developments” in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, warning that it is part of a long-term plan to Judaize open grazing lands and put pressure on long-established Bedouin communities.
“This isn’t just about claiming a plot of land—it’s a calculated political project disguised as a pastoral outpost,” the group said.
The new outpost marks the fifth such site along the Muarrajat road, a vital corridor linking northern and southern parts of the West Bank and separating Ariha from the central region, the statement added.
According to the statement, these outposts often begin as simple encampments but quickly evolve into fortified sites and eventually full settlements.
“Settlers operate as unofficial arms of the Israeli regime,” the group said, “backed by weapons, public funding, and a permissive legal framework, while impoverished Bedouin communities are choked by restrictions.”
Zionist minister of judiciary affairs Yariv Levin called on his regime on Wednesday to accelerate the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“I think that this period, beyond the current issues, is a time of historic opportunity that we must not miss,” Levin said during his meeting with the head of a settler council, as cited by The Times of Israel news outlet.
The minister claimed that the West Bank annexation is essential for Israel’s security, calling the occupied territory “not just the heart of the land but also the safety belt for the State of Israel.”
As of the end of 2024, approximately 770,000 illegal settlers lived in the West Bank, across 180 settlements and 256 outposts—including 138 classified as agricultural or pastoral, according to Palestinian reports.
Since the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023, at least 986 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Zionist troops and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last July declared the Zionist regime’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Al-Quds.