Report: Netanyahu Era Sees 40% Surge in Illegal Settlements in West Bank
WEST BANK (Dispatches) –
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank endure a sharp rise in settler attacks, alongside a 40% increase in the number of settlement outposts under the current government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported.
The Israeli Channel 12 said that the West Bank is experiencing an Israeli settlement boom since the formation of Netanyahu’s regime at the end of 2022.
The number of settlements increased from 128 in the West Bank to 178, representing about a 40% rise, alongside unprecedented demolitions of Palestinian homes, it added.
The report came two days after 14 Zionist regime ministers from Netanyahu’s Likud Party, along with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, signed a letter demanding Netanyahu annex the occupied territory immediately.
Tel Aviv usually shows little concern for settler attacks on Palestinians; however, their recent attacks on Zionist troops and police officers have occupied all Israeli politicians.
Last week, three Palestinians were killed and seven others injured in a deadly settler attack on the town of Kafr Malik in the Central West Bank.
“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 said.
“No cabinet has ever encouraged settlement as much as this one,” Meir Deutsch, CEO of the far-right Regavim movement, was quoted as stating by the channel.
According to the report, at least 50 new settlements have been announced in the West Bank since the formation of the current government.
“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,” it noted.