Published: 26 July 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Watchdog says West Bank outposts have flourished under Trump (Times of Israel)
Peace Now report shows majority of wildcat communities established in recent years have been agricultural farms, which take up more land, but fly under radar, due to lack of homes
A report published Monday by a settlement watchdog group revealed that Israelis in the West Bank have established 32 new illegal outposts since 2012, with the majority built since Donald Trump entered the White House.
According to Peace Now, 18 of the outposts were established since Donald Trump took office in 2017. The other 14 were established under US president Barack Obama, following several years in which no outposts were recorded.
While Obama was a frequent critic of settlement building, the Trump administration has mostly refused to criticise building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, beyond calling settlements “unhelpful.”
At Least 16 Israeli unauthorised West Bank outposts established since 2017 (Haaretz)
Israeli authorities turn a blind eye the outposts, which were founded on state lands, and at times even help to retroactively legalise them. Most are used for agriculture, and receive the help of local councils
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'They just die': Palestinian village choked by Israeli settlement dumpsite (Middle East Eye)
A wastewater stream near Bruqin has had devastating effects on the health and livelihoods of Palestinians
Photo: The West Bank outpost of Havat Gilad, January 10, 2018 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
