Israel built 7 illegal settlements in Palestinian-controlled Area B of West Bank: Israeli group

Israeli authorities have built seven illegal settlement outposts inside Area B of the West Bank, which is supposed to be under the Palestinian Authority's administrative control, an Israeli rights group said on Sunday.

These are the first settlement outposts established in Area B since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993.

"For the first time since Oslo Accords, 7 outposts established in West Bank Area B," Peace Now said in a statement.

It also said that "five of the outposts were established in the area called the Agreed-Upon Reserve" in east and southeast of Bethlehem city, while the other two were established in the Ramallah area, all of which are in the areas classified as Area B of the West Bank.

The Oslo II Accord of 1995 divided the West Bank into three zones: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under Palestinian civil and administrative control and Israeli security control, and Area C under full Israeli civil, administrative, and security control.

All Israeli illegal settlements are located in the West Bank's Area C which comprises 60% of the West Bank. Israel severely restricts Palestinians' construction in the area and widely demolishes Palestinian homes there under the pretext of lack of a construction permit.

The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group noted that "dozens of Palestinian families have left their homes in Area B due to settler violence" paving the way for erecting settlement outposts on their lands.

"Throughout the West Bank, an unprecedented number of 52 outposts were established in 2024. The 7 outposts in Area B constitute 13.5% of all outposts established in the past year," Peace Now said.

Israeli estimates indicate that more than 720,000 Israelis now live in illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Settlement construction has accelerated significantly since Israel's right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came to power in December 2022.

The international community, including the UN, considers these settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a significant legal development in July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories "illegal."

The court called for the immediate evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.