PARIS: Fourteen countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, condemned on Wednesday Israel&#39;s recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.&nbsp;&quot;We, States of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank,&quot; said a joint statement released by the French foreign ministry.&nbsp;&quot;We recall our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the expansion of settlement policies,&quot; it added.&nbsp;On Sunday, Israel&#39;s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.&nbsp;In their statement, the countries stressed such unilateral actions &quot;violate international law&quot; and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza as mediators push for the implementation of the second phase of the truce.&nbsp;The countries urged Israel &quot;to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements&quot;.&nbsp;They also reaffirmed their &quot;unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution... where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security&quot;.&nbsp;Israel has occupied the West Bank following a war in 1967.&nbsp;Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.&nbsp;Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank -- all of which are illegal under international law -- had reached its highest level since at least 2017.

Middle East

Europe

Fourteen nations condemned Israel’s approval of new West Bank settlements, calling them illegal, urging reversal, warning of risks to the Gaza ceasefire, and reaffirming support for a two-state solution.

14 countries condemn Israel's expansion of West Bank settlements

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority condemned on Tuesday Israel&#39;s plan to approve 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing it of tightening its control over Palestinian land.&nbsp;On Sunday, Israel&#39;s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.&nbsp;The Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign ministry decried the approval as a &quot;dangerous step aimed at tightening colonial control over the entirety of Palestinian land&quot;, calling it a continuation of &quot;apartheid, settlement, and annexation policies that undermine the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;The decision provides political cover for accelerating the plunder of Palestinian lands, expanding settlement infrastructure... alongside an escalating pace of settler terrorism against members of our people and their properties,&quot; it said in a statement.&nbsp;The latest move brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, Smotrich&#39;s office said.&nbsp;Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.&nbsp;Smotrich&#39;s office said the 19 newly approved settlements were located in what it described as &quot;highly strategic&quot; areas, adding that two of them -- Ganim and Kadim in the northern West Bank -- would be re-established after being dismantled two decades ago.&nbsp;Five of the 19 settlements already existed but had not previously been granted legal status under Israeli law, the statement said.&nbsp;Israel&#39;s decision came days after the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank -- all of which are illegal under international law -- had reached its highest level since at least 2017.&nbsp;US President Donald Trump recently warned that Israel &quot;would lose all of its support from the United States&quot; if it annexed the West Bank.&nbsp;Israel has occupied the territory since 1967, and violence there has surged following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023 with Hamas&#39;s attack on Israel.&nbsp;Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,028 Palestinians in the West Bank -- both militants and civilians -- since the start of the fighting in Gaza, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.&nbsp;At least 44 Israelis have been killed in the West Bank in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations during the same period, according to Israeli data.

The Palestinian Authority condemned Israel’s approval of 19 new West Bank settlements, accusing it of tightening control over Palestinian land, undermining statehood prospects, and accelerating settlement expansion amid rising violence.

Palestinian Authority says Israel tightening control over West Bank with new settlements

AL-HATHRURA: As relentless harassment from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/who-are-the-west-bank-settlers" style="color:#0073e6;">Israeli settlers</a>&nbsp;drove his brothers from their Bedouin community in the central occupied West Bank, Ahmed Kaabneh remained determined to stay on the land his family had lived on for generations. But when a handful of young settlers constructed a shack around 100 meters above his home and started intimidating his children, 45-year-old Kaabneh said he had no choice but to flee too. As with scores of Bedouin communities across the West Bank, the small cluster of wood and metal houses where Kaabneh&rsquo;s father and grandfather had lived now lies empty. &lsquo;Nearly a lifetime&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;It is very difficult... because you leave an area where you lived for 45 years. Not a day or two or three, but nearly a lifetime,&rdquo; Kaabneh told AFP at his family&#39;s new makeshift house in the rocky hills north of Jericho. &ldquo;But what can you do? They are the strong ones and we are the weak, and we have no power.&rdquo; Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the Gaza war&nbsp;erupted in October 2023. Over 3,000 displaced&nbsp;Some 3,200 Palestinians from dozens of Bedouin and herding communities have been forced from their homes by settler violence and movement restrictions since October 2023, the UN&#39;s humanitarian agency OCHA reported in October. The United Nations said this October was the worst month for settler violence since it began recording incidents in 2006. Almost none of the perpetrators have been held to account by the Israeli authorities. Kaabneh, four of his brothers, and their families now live together some 13 kilometers (eight miles) northeast of their original homes, which sat in the al-Hathrura area. Outside his freshly constructed metal house, boys kicked a football while washing hung from the line.&nbsp; But Kaabneh said the area did not feel like home. &ldquo;We are in a place we have never lived in before, and life here is hard,&rdquo; he said. Settler outpostsAlongside surging violence, the number of settler outposts has exploded in the West Bank. While all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, outposts are also prohibited under Israeli law.&nbsp; But many end up being legalized by the Israeli authorities. AFP had visited Kaabneh in the al-Hathrura area weeks before he was forced to flee. On the dirt road to his family&#39;s compound, caravans and an Israeli flag atop a hill marked an outpost established earlier this year -- one of several to have sprung up in the area. &lsquo;The situation is terrifying&rsquo;On the other side of the track, in the valley, lay the wreckage of another Bedouin compound whose residents had recently fled. While in Kaabneh&#39;s cluster of homes, AFP witnessed two settlers driving up a hill to surveil the Bedouins below. &ldquo;The situation is terrifying,&rdquo; Kaabneh said at the time, with life becoming almost untenable because of daily harassment and shrinking grazing land. &lsquo;Shout all night&rsquo;Less than three weeks later, the homes were deserted. Kaabneh said the settlers &ldquo;would shout all night, throw stones, and walk through the middle of the houses.&rdquo; &ldquo;They didn&#39;t allow us to sleep at night, nor move freely during the day.&rdquo; &lsquo;Thrive on chaos&rsquo;These days, only activists and the odd cat wander the remnants of Kaabneh&#39;s former life -- where upturned children&#39;s bikes and discarded shoes reveal the chaotic departure. &quot;We are here to keep an eye on the property... because a lot of places that are abandoned are usually looted by the settlements,&quot; said Sahar Kan-Tor, 29, an Israeli activist with the Israeli-Palestinian grassroots group Standing Together. Meanwhile, settlers with a quad bike and a digger were busy dismantling their hilltop shack and replacing it with a sofa and a table. &ldquo;They thrive on chaos,&rdquo; Kan-Tor explained. &ldquo;It is, in a way, a land without laws. There (are) authorities roaming around, but nothing is enforced, or very rarely enforced.&rdquo; 14% of West BankA report by Israeli settlement watchdogs last December said settlers had used shepherding outposts to seize 14% of the West Bank in recent years. NGOs Peace Now and Kerem Navot said settlers were acting &ldquo;with the backing of the Israeli government and military&rdquo;. Some members of Israel&#39;s right-wing government are settlers themselves, and far-right ministers have called for the West Bank&#39;s annexation. Threat of attacks loom&nbsp;Kan-Tor said he believed settlers were targeting this stretch of the West Bank because of its significance for a contiguous Palestinian state. But Kaabneh said the threat of attacks loomed even in his new location in the east of the territory. He said settlers had already driven along the track leading to his family&#39;s homes and watched them from the hill above. &ldquo;Even this area, which should be considered safe, is not truly safe,&rdquo; Kaabneh lamented. &ldquo;They pursue us everywhere.&rdquo;

A report by Israeli settlement watchdogs last December said settlers had used shepherding outposts to seize 14% of the West Bank in recent years; 3,200 Palestinians have been displaced because of settler violence since October 2023.

‘Land without laws’: Israeli settlers force Bedouins from West Bank community

PARIS: Four European nations Thursday urged Israel to stop what they called increasing &quot;settler violence against Palestinian civilians&quot; in the occupied West Bank.&nbsp;&quot;We -- France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom -- strongly condemn the massive increase of settler violence against Palestinian civilians and call for stability in the West Bank,&quot; they said.&nbsp;&quot;These attacks must stop,&quot; they added, saying they risked undermining plans to end the Gaza war and prospects for long-term peace.&nbsp;Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.&nbsp;Violence in the West Bank has soared since Palestinian militant group Hamas&#39;s October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.&nbsp;It has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas coming into effect last month.&nbsp;Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank -- many of them militants, but also scores of civilians -- since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.&nbsp;At least 44 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.&nbsp;Israel&#39;s military on Wednesday launched a new operation against Palestinian armed groups in the occupied West Bank. A local governor told AFP that Israeli forces had raided several towns.

France, Germany, Italy and the UK urged Israel to halt rising settler violence in the West Bank, warning it endangers Gaza ceasefire efforts. West Bank casualties have surged as Israeli forces launch new operations across several towns.

Four European nations urge Israel to end West Bank 'settler violence'

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ISLAMABAD: Israel has approved a plan to resettle the entire Bnei Menashe community from India, accelerating settlement expansion with nearly 5,800 members of the group to emigrate by 2030, according to Israeli officials and local media outlets. The proposal, endorsed at a cabinet meeting and submitted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, sets out a two-phase arrival schedule. By the end of 2026, 1,200 people are expected to arrive, with the remaining 4,600 arriving by 2030, according to the Times of Israel. Who are the Bnei Menashe?The Bnei Menashe identify as descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh, regarded as one of Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;lost tribes.&rdquo; For decades, members practiced a form of Judaism mixed with local traditions before seeking formal recognition. Their immigration has taken place in waves, supported largely by private organizations and the state. Resettlement plan and costsUnder the plan, the first phase will cost approximately 90 million shekels ($2.75 million), covering immigration arrangements, conversion, accommodation in absorption centers, Hebrew language training, and integration into education and employment.&nbsp; According to the official Israeli press statement, the Jewish Agency will manage and finance pre-immigration preparation and flights, investing additional funds in support of diaspora communities. Although members of the Bnei Menashe began arriving in the 1990s, Israel formally recognized the group as descendants of a biblical &ldquo;lost tribe&rdquo; only in 2005, when the then-Sephardi chief rabbi issued an endorsement, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Settlement expansion&nbsp;The decision comes as Israel continues significant settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Earlier this month, the Times of Israel reported that tenders for a record number of housing units were published in 2025. A joint statement by Katz and Smotrich described the security cabinet&rsquo;s decision as &ldquo;a step that will change the face of the area and shape the future of settlement for years to come,&rdquo; the Times of Israel reported. &ldquo;The new settlements are all placed within a long-term strategic vision, whose goal is to strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory, to avoid the establishment of a Palestinian state, and to create the basis for future development of settlement in the coming decades,&rdquo; Katz&rsquo;s office said as reported by Times of Israel. In May, the International Center for Transitional Justice, a non-profit human rights group, reported that Israeli ministers said 22 new Jewish settlements had been approved in the West Bank &mdash; the largest expansion in decades.&nbsp; Some settlements already exist as illegal outposts and will now be legalized under Israeli law, while others are newly planned as stated by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. India-Israel tiesThis week, PM Netanyahu said Israel and India were strengthening their strategic partnership following a meeting with India&rsquo;s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Jerusalem. Netanyahu said in a post on X that both sides were advancing investments, innovation and plans for an economic corridor linking India to Europe through Israel. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, announced during the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi, is progressing on schedule, according to its official website. Goyal also met the Israeli president and said Israel&rsquo;s innovation ecosystem, combined with India&rsquo;s scale and talent, could serve as a &ldquo;force multiplier.&rdquo; According to India&rsquo;s Ministry of External Affairs, bilateral trade reached $6.53 billion in FY 2023-24, while investment ties continue to deepen, including India&rsquo;s $1.18 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Israel&#39;s Haifa Port in 2022.

Asia

Israel has approved a plan to resettle the entire Bnei Menashe community from India, accelerating settlement expansion with nearly 5,800 members of the group to emigrate by 2030, according to Israeli officials and local media outlets.

Israel to resettle thousands from India's Jewish tribe ‘Bnei Menashe’ 

RAMALLAH: Illegal Israeli settlers descended on Palestinian olive harvesters and activists this week in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, beating them with clubs in an attack Palestinian health officials said sent at least one woman to the hospital with serious injuries. The attack Sunday in the town of Turmus Ayya, which was captured in videos obtained by The Associated Press, came as Palestinians say settler violence in the region is worsening. The United Nations and rights groups have raised the alarm as harvest season begins and Palestinian farmers are at growing risk while gathering olives.&nbsp;Settler violence skyrockets&nbsp;&ldquo;Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency,&quot; Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territory, said in a statement released Tuesday. &ldquo;Two weeks into the start of the 2025 harvest, we have already seen severe attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian men, women, children, and foreign solidarity activists.&quot; In one of the videos obtained by the AP, a masked man was seen running through an olive grove and beating at least two people with a club, including a woman as she lay motionless on the ground. The masked man appeared to be wearing tzitzit, a ritual fringed garment for Jews.&nbsp;The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry said. Torched carsIn a separate video, more than a dozen masked men were seen running down a village road alongside an olive grove, pursuing a car. One settler clubbed the car and opened the door. A passenger managed to escape and run away with the group of men running after him. A third video showed flames and smoke rising from several torched cars. Israel&rsquo;s Channel 12 reported that the head of the West Bank police force said in an internal police WhatsApp group that the footage of the masked settler beating the woman &ldquo;kept him up at night&rdquo; and instructed officers to bring the settler to justice. Israel&#39;s military and police did not respond to an AP request for comment on the attack.&nbsp;Palestinian American population&nbsp;Turmus Ayya, whose population is predominantly Palestinian American, has long been a target of settler attacks, but villagers say the violence worsened during the Israel-Hamas war. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by hilltops crowned with Israeli settlements and outposts. Since the killing of a 14-year-old Palestinian-American, Amer Rabee, by Israeli forces in the town in April, protests against settler violence and the military&#39;s perceived failure to curb it have provoked regular clashes with settlers. More broadly, settler violence is surging across the West Bank.&nbsp;Over 750 settler attacks&nbsp;The UN says the first half of 2025 has seen 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage &mdash; a 13% increase compared with the same period last year. The first week of olive harvest season has seen more than 150 settler attacks and over 700 olive trees uprooted, broken, or poisoned, according to Muayyad Shaaban, who heads an office in the Palestinian Authority that is tracking the violence. Israel captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast War. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state. Settler advocates hold key Israeli Cabinet positions that grant them and the settlers an essential say over the West Bank.

UN says first half of 2025 has seen 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage; settler advocates hold key Israeli Cabinet positions that grant them and the settlers an important say over the West Bank. 

Articles tagged with "Illegal Israeli settlers"

14 countries condemn Israel's expansion of West Bank settlements

Palestinian Authority says Israel tightening control over West Bank with new settlements

‘Land without laws’: Israeli settlers force Bedouins from West Bank community

Four European nations urge Israel to end West Bank 'settler violence'

Israel to resettle thousands from India's Jewish tribe ‘Bnei Menashe’

Illegal Israeli settlers beat Palestinian farmers on video as attacks mount