The "Israeli" occupation continues its projects to legitimize settlement outposts that it previously considered individual actions carried out by settlers and that were temporary and would not receive support. This has left hundreds of Palestinians, landowners whose lands have been forcibly taken by settlers, in a state of anticipation, navigating through "Israeli" courts that have forced them to pay tens of thousands of dollars to lawyers. The next step is the legalization of the violation of their rights by an occupying government that has no legitimacy under international law on the territory occupied since 1967.
Settlement projects intersect with military operations of the army in the West Bank, along with political decisions that are immediately reflected in the immediate implementation; this includes land confiscation under the pretext of security and the racist wall at one time, or for nature reserves at another, for military training areas at a third, and for bypass roads at a fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.
There are many arguments, but what remains constant is the rise of settlement activity and the diminishing geographical connectivity of Palestinian cities in the West Bank, which since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993 has taken a rapid direction, cloaked under the guise of a fictitious peace process, and supported by normalization that has made its way into Arab countries. This has opened up for "Israel" avenues for facilities, corridors, economic relations, and more; resulting in many settlement plans coming to light at the expense of the injustice and oppression that Palestinians have faced, without any Arab or international attention to what is happening.
Read also: Forced displacement... How does the occupation reshape Palestinian camps in the northern West Bank?
The delicious poison.
This is how the media game that 'Israel' marketed defined the cancer and toxins of land theft and human killing. While international law grants an independent state to the Palestinian people with borders, sovereignty, and natural resources, the fictitious peace agreement was used by the 'Israeli' side as a direct bridge for its settlement, which it has labeled with names to beautify it in the international arena.
The term "natural expansion of settlements," "basic additional construction," and the "need for roads" has been increasingly used. Additionally, terms related to geographical communication, legitimate settlement, illegal outposts, religious settlements, agricultural settlements, farms, and facilities have also been employed. All of these are classifications intended to mislead international public opinion and manipulate the concept of settlement, dividing it in a way that complicates resolving the issue based on international laws and obliging parties to enter negotiations on these matters. This, in itself, has become a convenient poison that many actors on the international stage have engaged with, leading some to believe in the fading of the Palestinian state and the necessity of dividing Palestinians into population clusters. Consequently, settlement activity today has entered a dangerous phase.
developed settlement
In light of the wave of legitimization for settlements that have spread widely on the hills of the West Bank, a new term has emerged to take control of the plains, valleys, and springs of water, referred to as "pastoral settlement." More than 30 Bedouin communities have been displaced, and dozens of Palestinian villages and towns have been confined within the limits of their urban areas. Farmers have been deprived of grazing, farming, or access to their lands in southern Nablus, eastern Ramallah, Masafer Yatta in the south of Hebron, Tubas in the north, the Jordan Valley, and Jericho nearby, reaching as far as east Jerusalem and many other areas.
All of this falls under the framework of pastoral areas controlled by settlers who prevent Palestinian life through a system of pressure, abuse, and intimidation to force them out, both voluntarily and forcibly. This is a policy directly supported by the "Israeli" army. Recently, the "Israeli" Minister of Defense, Gantz, canceled administrative detention orders against settlers who attack Palestinians. This followed the new American administration's cancellation of sanctions against four settlers in the West Bank who engage in terrorism day and night.
Despite the fact that the sanctions included only four settlers out of thousands who are members of unruly groups such as "Hilltop Youth" and "Price Tag," the U.S. administration even lifted these sanctions, which observers initially viewed as merely a formality and an attempt to beautify the American role, distracting followers from its involvement in the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza.
Umbrellas
Today, the project and settlement plans in the West Bank are covered by three umbrellas capable of making the settlers' state "Judea and Samaria" a reality within five years. These umbrellas are:
The absolute political and financial support from the new American administration, which President Donald Trump clearly stated and reiterated, expresses his desire to expand "Israel" simultaneously with the launch of the annexation plan that undermines the Palestinian dream of an independent state, and even puts the Arab region at the mercy of the whims of "Israeli" national and religious security. This support was followed by complete normalization, which exceeded its limits by hosting settlement leaders from the West Bank in one of the Arab capitals, where they discussed development projects there. This has become a blatant disregard for all morals and laws, not to mention the required Arab dignity.
The "Israeli" mentality based on the doctrine of deterrence and settlement has effectively become the ruling authority in "Israel." It is directed by some of the most important ministers of war, finance, and national security, who reside in settlements in the West Bank. Therefore, they now have a broad umbrella of legitimacy for the stalled plans. This means that land confiscation is carried out by the government, while control through force is executed by the army, and settlement is implemented by settlers supported by this government.
The weakness and fragmentation of the Arab world, culminating in the Palestinian division caused by the unjust and humiliating Oslo Agreement for the Palestinians, has created a scenario that offers greater temptation for Israeli control. This weakness, fragmentation, and resentments have led some Arab parties to view Israel as a friend in order to rid themselves of another Arab party. Additionally, some have shed the burden of historical guilt under the pretext that there is a Palestinian Authority and an independent Palestinian decision, and thus this has provided an important cover for the settlers by neutralizing the Arab depth and playing on the strings of "divide and conquer" at times, and the independent Palestinian decision at other times.
Read also: Settlement in the West Bank is a tool for Judaization and demographic change.
Today, with the overshadowing of toxic elements in the Arab atmosphere and international distractions with economic and security issues, the "Israeli" sees this as a historical opportunity for expansion and for turning plans into reality called the state of "Judea and Samaria." This means that the coming days, if they are not the worst, will be bad on the ground without a political horizon or deterrent to the madness that will change the map of the Middle East and overturn balances that were once called stability and peace in the region.
In reference to the regional developments and the changing map of the Middle East, which Netanyahu described as the "New Middle East Project," it appears that the outlines of geographical transgressions have effectively begun in the West Bank. Recently, thousands of dunams were seized in the Jordan Valley and eastern West Bank, paving the way for plans to build a buffer zone next to the apartheid wall extending at least one kilometer, which means that the geographical connectivity between the settlements is accelerating, in contrast to the dismantling of the Palestinian situation.
The astonishing aspect of the scene is that Arab countries are preoccupied with condemnation while the international community remains silent, while the actual players on the ground are the plans of "Israel," which many of their rabbis (clergymen) believe will not stop at rural Damascus, the Nile, the Euphrates, and the Litani River in Lebanon, but will extend beyond just the West Bank.
