As an environment of tension persists in the region, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) brought to light, this Tuesday, that Israel is meticulously planning to implement 16 structural schemes, aiming for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The schemes encompass the construction of 816 settlement units over an expansive area of 4,414 dunams.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority within the organization revealed in its monthly report that last month, Israeli authorities gave the green light to five structural plans which aim to construct 684 settlement units over 204 dunams of Palestinian lands. An additional 11 structural plans are in the queue, intending to allocate 4,000 dunams of confiscated Palestinian land for settlement, to construct 132 units on 170 dunams.
Reflecting on the socio-political and economic backgrounds, such an expansion cannot be seen in isolation. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been stirred by territorial disputes, national identity, and sovereignty. Hence, analyzing the impact of these settlement expansions is pivotal to understanding the regional stability and peace efforts, especially considering the fact that these areas have historically witnessed violence and upheaval.
As per the report, the authorities and settlers executed 923 assaults during the past month of September. These assaults varied from direct attacks on citizens, sabotaging and bulldozing lands, invading villages, uprooting trees, to taking over properties. Moreover, settlers executed 123 attacks, which included organized and severe assaults in Masafer Yatta in the Hebron governorate and in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Jericho.
The comprehensive territorial strategy outlined by Israel in these 16 plans signals a potential escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This topic is of global significance, underlining a nexus between territorial expansion and geopolitical instability in the Middle East. The impact of these expansions extends beyond local communities, affecting international relations, and raising crucial questions about the future of peace initiatives, two-state solutions, and the wider stability of the region.
The Resistance Authority sees the Israeli government as unequivocally sponsoring settler militias by allocating financial amounts for the sake of outposts, which serve as launching points for the youth hill groups in executing attacks. It emphasized the peril of this functional exchange of roles between the formal level represented by the government and the army and the informal, represented by settler militias which now seemingly receive their orders directly from within the corridors of the Israeli government.
The report showcased a record jump in demolition notifications submitted to Palestinian citizens. Israeli authorities issued 168 notices of demolition, construction stoppage, and evacuation of facilities last month. The Israeli authorities also renewed an order to seize 350 dunams of Palestinian citizens’ lands in the villages of Qatanna, Al-Qubeibeh, and Beit Anan north of Jerusalem, and Beit Liqya west of Ramallah, for security and military purposes.
The unfolding of these plans paints a complex picture for the geopolitical future of the region, ushering in debates on international law, human rights, and the evolving landscape of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
