West Bank: Israel's army is building eight settlement outposts around Hebron

There was a gun attack in Hebron in the West Bank on Friday, two Israeli soldiers were killed and the suspected Palestinian perpetrators from Hebron were killed. Since then, Israel says it has been carrying out an “anti-terror operation” in the West Bank. And not only that. Construction has now begun on eight new Israeli settlement outposts in the area south of Hebron.

It is said that the outposts are being built with the permission of the Israeli army. They are part of the measures to "eliminate evil," claimed the Israeli finance minister, the right-wing extremist Bezalel Smotrich, according to a statement from his Religious Zionism party. This is a response to the deadly terrorist attack on the Israeli military post near Hebron on Friday. According to the minister, the measures also include "a comprehensive wave of demolitions of illegal Arab buildings near the site of the attack."

After the attack, Israel announced tough action against Palestinians. The Israeli army has been attacking two districts of Hebron since Friday. According to the city administration, around 3,200 people have been driven from their homes and an undisclosed number of buildings have been demolished.

The Palestinian leadership spoke of collective punishment against the Palestinian people and called for international intervention.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. Around three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there, whose settlements are illegal under international law.

According to differing reports from human rights groups and international organizations, between 160 and 260 illegal Israeli settlement outposts have been established in the occupied West Bank since the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. According to the UN count in July, a total of 215 Israeli settlement outposts have been established across the West Bank since the Hamas attack, compared to an average of eight outposts per year in the previous decade. In addition, the current Israeli government has approved or legalized a total of 104 settlements and settlement outposts since taking office at the end of 2022.

The parliamentary elections will take place in Israel on Tuesday. The conflict with the Palestinians is an important election campaign issue. Right-wing politicians are trying to score points with their voters by promising tough action against Palestinian violence. However, they hardly address the increasing attacks by radical Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel's army has meanwhile declared that it will seal off the West Bank on election day.