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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2024/3/19/how-israeli-settlers-are-expanding-illegal-outposts-amid-gaza-war">aljazeera.com</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">How Israeli settlers are expanding illegal outposts amid Gaza war</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Virginia Pietromarchi, Mohammed Haddad</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">March 19, 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><p>In
the secluded hills south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Abu
al-Kabash used to wake up daily to his prized possession: a grove of
pomegranate and fig trees that towered over the six different kinds of
aloe plants enveloping his home.</p>
<p>That is all gone.</p>
<p>Since Israel started its war on Gaza following Hamas's October 7
attacks, assaults on Palestinians by Israeli settlers became so violent
that the 76-year-old farmer had to abandon the land passed down to him
from his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.</p>
<p>“It was a choice between life or death,” Abu al-Kabash said.</p>
<p>He is far from the only one. More than 1,200 Palestinians across the
occupied West Bank have been forced from their homes since the conflict
started, according to rights groups and the <a href="https://palestine.un.org/en/262773-un-human-rights-chief-deplores-new-moves-expand-israeli-settlements-occupied-west-bank" target="_blank">United Nations</a>.</p>
<p>Data gathered by activists and verified with satellite images by Al
Jazeera's verification unit, Sanad, show that between October 2023 and
January 2024, settlers in the occupied West Bank have built at least 15
outposts and 18 roads - illegal under both Israeli and international
law. In addition, settlers built hundreds of metres of fences and
multiple roadblocks, further limiting Palestinians' movement.</p>
<p>The unprecedented uprooting has led to the disintegration of at least
15 Palestinian communities so far, with Israeli settlers fast expanding
their presence. Their goal, experts say, is to reshape the demography
of the West Bank while breaking the backbone of the territory earmarked
for a future Palestinian state.</p>
<p>“When there is a war, that is when settlers take advantage and try to
establish as many outposts as they can,” said Mauricio Lapchik, an
activist with Peace Now, an Israeli organisation documenting settlement
activities. The group recorded a similar uptick in illegal outposts
during the years of the second Intifada in the early 2000s.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/INTERACTIVE-settlers-building-illegal-outposts-and-roads@2x-1710393580.png?w=770&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE settlers building illegal outposts and roads-1710393580" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="395" height="394" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p>
<h2 id="gmail-illegal-outposts">Illegal outposts</h2>
<p>Outposts are typically makeshift encampments ranging from single
caravans to a few modular structures built on rural Palestinian land.</p>
<p>They are built by members of Israel's wider settler movement, which
seeks to enforce an Israeli presence on illegally occupied land. The
outpost builders are often driven by an ultra-hardline ideology that
demands Jews populate all of Palestinian land and force Palestinians
out.</p>
<p>All outposts, like settlements, are illegal under international law.
Israel, however, considers only the outposts illegal, claiming they were
erected without government approval. Yet, outposts are often <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/13/israel-grants-authorisation-to-nine-settlements-in-west-bank">approved retroactively</a> as settlements.</p>
<p>Satellite images show outposts built in the first four months of the
war scattered across the occupied West Bank, suggesting Israeli settlers
have become bolder and are pushing their presence beyond areas close to
existing settlements.</p>
<p>Drag the slider to see before and after images of outpost construction over the past few months.</p>
<h2><strong>Illegal roads</strong></h2>
<p>Roads are key to establishing a presence in remote areas, and several
have been cut through private Palestinian land since October 7.</p>
<p>The dozens of roads not only take Palestinian land but also become
lines Palestinian farmers and herders know are dangerous to cross
because settlers will attack them.</p>
<p>The verified satellite images below show dozens of new roads built
after October 7 linking outposts to other Israeli-controlled areas, such
as farms or settlements.</p>
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