It reached its peak during the Gaza War... a record high in the establishment of settlement outposts in the West Bank

Last year witnessed the establishment of 26 random settlement outposts, compared to 5 the previous year (French)

The Israeli "Peace Now" movement said that in 2023, settlers established a record number of random settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, noting that many of them were established after the outbreak of the war on Gaza last October.

The movement stated in a report published yesterday, Thursday, that last year witnessed the establishment of 26 settlement outposts that were not recognized by the Israeli government, including about 10 outposts since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7.

The report linked the increase in the establishment of outposts to the presence of extreme right-wing figures in the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to power in Israel in December 2022, with a coalition that includes the extreme right and extreme religious parties.

Since that time, the Israeli authorities have allowed “settlers to establish settlement outposts without obstacles,” according to the non-governmental movement’s report, which added, “Under the Netanyahu government, we have witnessed unprecedented support for the settlements.”

Netanyahu served as prime minister in Israel between 1996 and 1999, and then from 2009 to 2021, before returning to power in late 2022.

His current ruling coalition includes extreme nationalist ministers such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who are staunch supporters of the settlement movement, and both of whom live in the settlements.

Record

The "Peace Now" organization said that the year 2023 witnessed the establishment of the largest number of random settlement outposts, that is, those that are established without the approval of the Israeli authorities, since the beginning of this phenomenon in 1996.

According to the organization, the previous record was 23, and was recorded in 2002 during the second Palestinian Intifada.

By comparison, only 5 outposts were held in 2022 when the Israeli government was made up of a wide range of political parties without Netanyahu's Likud or the Religious Zionist Party.

These outposts are usually legitimized by the Israeli authorities.

Peace Now said that in 2023, about 15 settlement outposts began the process of retroactively legalizing them.

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967 during the June War, which also saw it occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

More than 490,000 Israelis now live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, along with about 3 million Palestinians, and these settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Source: French