Israeli settlers pitch tents for new illegal outpost in occupied West Bank

What the report says

Israeli settlers have put up tents in the Wadi Zeytun area near Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, in what Al Jazeera reported was an attempt to create a new settlement outpost. The report said settlers also began setting up another outpost in the nearby village of Burqa on the same day, while Palestinian news agency Wafa said the move could increase the number of outposts around those villages to six.

Al Jazeera said the developments came as settler pressure continued in other parts of the West Bank. In Qusra, south of Nablus, three Palestinian families remained under siege for a second week, with 15 people, including two children, confined to their homes. The report also described attacks or attempted raids in Beit Imrin, Nab’a al-Kaabneh, Turmus Aya and Hebron, and said Palestinians were injured in some of the incidents. Israeli forces were also reported to have intervened in some cases, including arrests in Beit Imrin.

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese told Al Jazeera that the situation reflected long-running impunity and said Israeli authorities appeared to be working alongside settlers rather than stopping them. She accused Israel of using settlers to help drive Palestinians out, language that Al Jazeera attributed to her remarks. Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti also told the outlet that settler attacks were intensifying and linked the campaign to land seizure and displacement.

The report noted that the UN considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law. It also placed the incidents in the broader context of rising West Bank violence since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.