By Romana Rubeo 
The Israeli government has “approved strategic land seizures — almost 6,000 acres this year alone — and major settlement construction”.
Israel is actively redrawing the map of the West Bank by seizing Palestinian lands, expanding settlements, and demolishing villages and towns, the Washington Post revealed in an investigation on Thursday.
According to the newspaper, these actions represent “the most significant territorial changes in the West Bank in decades”, with the main goal of fragmenting the territory.
During the 19 months of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government, Israel has “dramatically expanded Israel’s footprint in the occupied West Bank,” the report highlighted, adding that these actions accelerate “a long-term campaign by the country’s settler movement to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state.”
Strategic Land Seizures
The Israeli government has “approved strategic land seizures — almost 6,000 acres this year alone — and major settlement construction, escalated demolition of Palestinian property and increased state support for illegally built settler outposts substantially increased its presence in the occupied West Bank,” the paper stated.
Although the US administration of Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that “any diplomatic solution to the war in Gaza (must) include a path to an independent Palestinian state,” this is “effectively impossible”, according to the Washington Post.
In fact, “radical Jewish settlers and their far-right political backers, who have ascended to the highest levels of Israel’s government, are redrawing the map in real time,” making the two-state solution envisaged in previous so-called peace agreements increasingly unfeasible.
The Washington Post conducted interviews in six Palestinian villages and towns. “Residents described paralyzing constraints on daily life as settlements creep closer, limiting their ability to move freely and to access the farmlands that long sustained them,” the report said, adding that “ettler violence has erased some villages.”
‘Settle the Land’
When he returned to office in December 2022, Netanyahu formed a coalition government that pledged to “promote and develop settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel,” including in the West Bank, the paper reported.
Leading this expansion effort is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a “longtime settler activist who now serves as finance minister.” He was also appointed by Netanyahu to a defense ministry position with broad powers over Israeli policy in the West Bank.
Smotrich has openly stated his ambition to prevent the division of the land and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The investigation cites an audio recording obtained by the Israeli rights group Peace Now where the finance minister said that his ambition is “to settle the land, to build it, and to prevent, for God’s sake, its division … and the establishment of a Palestinian state”.
This sentiment was echoed by Netanyahu himself, following a ruling by the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel last month to “end its occupation of Palestinian territory, evacuate existing settlements and pay reparations to Palestinians who have lost land and property”.
ICJ’s New Advisory Opinion on Israel’s Occupation – What Will It Mean?
“The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land,” Netanyahu said in response.
‘Active Support’
The Washington Post noted that about 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 settlers, “whose numbers have increased by more than 15 percent during the past five years.”
Citing data provided by Peace Now, the report stated that “Israel’s Higher Planning Council has fully approved almost 12,000 housing units in settlements in the past 19 months, compared with just over 8,000 in the prior two years”.
“Israeli security forces have failed to halt a rising tide of harassment, assault and murder by extremist settlers, aimed at depopulating the Palestinian communities around them,” the report stated.
‘Protecting Security’ – Israel Approves Smotrich’s Plan to Legalize Five Settlements
The Israeli army has been repeatedly accused of providing active support to illegal Jewish settlers in West Bank violence.
Last June, for example, Joe Carmel, advocacy coordinator for Breaking the Silence, an NGO of former Israeli soldiers, told Agence France Presse that in the occupied West Bank, “the line that never really existed between the army and the settlers”.
House Demolitions
“Palestinians in the West Bank describe a creeping, decades-long encirclement by settler communities, followed more recently by rapid expansion and unchecked violence,” the investigation stated.
Additionally, the expansion of Israeli settlements and the merging of outposts have significantly reduced the boundaries of Palestinian villages and towns due to demolitions and the denial of building permits.
‘I Shouted at the Soldiers’ – As Gaza War Grinds on, Israel is Demolishing the West Bank
“More than 2,000 structures have been demolished in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under Netanyahu’s new government, according to the United Nations, displacing more than 4,000 people — 2,200 people were displaced in the two years prior,” the report said.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.
