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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">Top Israeli officials demand 'more settlements, more guns' as West Bank violence surges</h1><p class="gmail-">The
crisis gripping the occupied West Bank has led many to warn that
Israel's continued violations could soon spark a third Intifada</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>FEB 22, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/top-israeli-officials-demand-more-settlements-more-guns-as-west-bank-violence-surges">https://thecradle.co/articles/top-israeli-officials-demand-more-settlements-more-guns-as-west-bank-violence-surges</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/abe7ef38-d182-11ee-913b-00163e02c055.webp" alt="" width="444" height="250" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo Credit: THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><p>Senior
Israeli officials are calling for the expansion of illegal settlements
in the occupied West Bank and for the delivery of more weapons to
settlers in the wake of the latest <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/jerusalem-shooting-operation-leaves-several-israeli-casualties">Palestinian resistance operation</a> on 22 February.</p><p>"The
serious attack on Maale Adumim must have a decisive security response
but also an answer from the settlements … I demand the prime minister
approve the convening of the higher planning council and immediately
approve plans for thousands of housing units in Maale Adumim and the
entire region," anti-Arab Finance Minister <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/middleeast/israel-smotrich-palestinians-intl/index.html">Bezalel Smotrich</a> said via social media.</p><p>This came on the heels of a statement by National Security Minister <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/27/who-is-israels-far-right-pro-settler-security-minister-ben-gvir">Itamar Ben Gvir</a>,
who said his office will continue to arm extremist settler groups that
terrorize Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.</p><p>"We're
distributing more and more guns. I think that today everyone
understands that guns save lives … Six months ago, I said that the right
to life is more important than the right to free movement for residents
of the Palestinian Authority," the Jewish supremacist told reporters.
"The right to life for Jewish residents in the West Bank is more
important than the freedom of movement for residents of the Palestinian
Authority."<br>"I expect that there will be more and more checkpoints,
that there will be restrictions. Our enemies do not look for excuses;
our enemies just want to harm us," he added.</p><p>Ben Gvir also echoed
claims made several months ago by his coalition partner Smotrich that
"there is no such thing as the Palestinian people" and stressed he would
increase pressure on the government to ban Palestinian worshippers from
entering <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23493">Al-Aqsa Mosque</a> during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.</p><p>Since
the start of Israel's campaign of genocide against the Gaza Strip
nearly five months ago, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have
witnessed a significant spike in <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/settlers-burn-through-west-bank-village-under-army-protection">settler pogroms</a> and violent raids by the Israeli army. Palestinian resistance operations have also seen a massive surge, jumping <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23498">350 percent</a> between 2022 and 2023.</p><p style="margin-left:0px">Over
1,000 Palestinians – including hundreds of children – have been
forcibly displaced by settlers and Israeli army soldiers, according to
the UN. Furthermore, over 7,000 Palestinians have been arrested by the
army in operations that have more than doubled the population of
Israel's prisons. </p><p style="margin-left:0px"><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr">As the situation worsens, more settlers are being </span><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/12476"><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr">armed</span></a><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr"> under an initiative sponsored by the Israeli National Security Ministry. </span></p><p style="margin-left:0px"><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr">According to Israeli watchdog NGO </span><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23345"><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr">Peace Now</span></a><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr">,
Israeli settlers established a record-breaking 26 outposts in the
occupied West Bank in 2023. The report correlates the rise in unlawful
settlement construction with the Jewish supremacist policies of the
Israeli government.</span></p><p style="margin-left:0px"><span lang="EN-US" dir="ltr">The
deteriorating crisis comes as dozens of nations attend hearings at the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) that seek to end Israel's illegal
occupation of Palestinian territories and the system of apartheid
imposed on the Arab population.</span></p></span></div></div></div></div>
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