Israeli settlers build new outposts amid rising West Bank tensions

Israel’s national security minister has urged tougher military action against Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank and urged Israeli settlers to expand their presence there despite surging violence and international calls for a halt to new construction.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, was speaking at a settler outpost - one of several the Israeli military said had been discovered across the West Bank since Thursday but were not authorised. They would be dismantled “according to enforcement priorities”, a military statement said without elaborating.

The developments followed some of the worst violence in years involving Palestinians, Israeli forces and Jewish settlers in the West Bank in the past week.

“We have your backs, run to the hilltops, settle the land,” Mr Ben-Gvir said during his visit.

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The United Nations human rights chief in Geneva on Friday the situation “risks spiralling out of control” and he urged Israel to “bring its actions into line with international law”.

Most countries deem Jewish settlements built on land Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal. Their expansion has for decades been among the most contentious issues between Israel, the international community and Palestinians, who say they undermine a viable future Palestinian state.

Dispossessed

The new construction follows an announcement on Wednesday by Mr Netanyahu of plans for 1,000 new homes in the Eli settlement in response to a Palestinian gun attack in the area the previous day that killed four Israelis.

According to the Israeli watchdog Peace Now, Eli was built in 1984 and some 4,600 settlers live there. Palestinians in the area say they were dispossessed of their land to allow for the settlement’s expansion over the years.

Tuesday’s shooting came a day after an Israeli raid on Jenin that led to an hours-long gunbattle between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships. Seven Palestinians were killed and more than 90 wounded and seven Israeli personnel were also wounded.

But Mr Ben-Gvir called for tougher action. “We must launch a military operation, bring down buildings, eliminate terrorists, not one or two but dozens and hundreds and if necessary thousands,” he said. “Because, ultimately, it is the only way we will seize this place, strengthen our hold and restore security to the residents.”

In retaliation for that attack, hundreds of Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian towns in the West Bank such as Turmus Ayya, killing a 25-year-old Palestinian father and setting dozens of houses and cars ablaze.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said police arrested three people on suspicion of involvement in the violence.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned Israel’s new settlement projects, which it said were part of its plan to de facto annex the West Bank. Israel is “permanently closing the door to any opportunity for a political solution to the conflict,” it said.

Israel cites biblical, historical and political ties to the West Bank as its justification for claiming the land, and says construction there follows a building permit process.

Since taking office in January, Mr Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition has approved the promotion of more than 7,000 new housing units, most deep in the West Bank. It also amended a law to clear the way for settlers to return to four settlements that had previously been evacuated.

According to the United Nations, some 700,000 settlers live in 279 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, up from 520,000 in 2012. - Reuters

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