Behind the Scenes of the Expansion of Illegal Settlements in the West Bank
Leaked documents show that the occupying regime facilitates the expansion of illegal settlements by providing financial support to Israeli organizations and “legal” support.
Eviralnews, the British media in a report by disclosing the documents of institutions affiliated to Tel Aviv, proved the direct role of the Israeli regime in the expansion of illegal settlements.
According to a BBC report, 29 new illegal settlements were built in the West Bank last year alone, which is an unprecedented figure. Illegal settlements often lack official borders and are considered illegal not only in international laws, but even according to the laws of the Israeli regime.
After the victory over the Arabs in the 6-day war in 1967, the Israeli regime violated international law and started building settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan River. Despite the pressure from the international community, the occupying regime continues to develop its settlements and builds settlements in new areas.
In the past, the different Tel Aviv cabinets have pushed the Jews to move to these settlements and occupy the Palestinian land with their policies. From subsidies and tax discounts to cheap municipal services. Until today, Tel Aviv has built more than 140 settlements in the West Bank, and at least 196 other settlements have been established by Jews without obtaining permission from the Israeli authorities. Therefore, even the media of this regime call the second category of settlements illegal.
2 key actors in the expansion of illegal settlements
According to the BBC, the expansion of these illegal settlements is an issue that has deeply worried many Palestinians. British media research shows that organizations affiliated with the Israeli government have been involved in financing and supporting the establishment of these illegal settlements. The documents obtained by the BBC show that the “World Israeli Organization” and the settlement company “Amana” have played a prominent role in the expansion of these illegal settlements.
The World Israeli Organization, which was established more than a century ago and played a key role in the establishment of the Israeli regime, has a sub-category called “Settlement Department”, which has been responsible for the management of the territories occupied by the Israeli regime since 1967. The budget of this department is provided by the Israeli regime and it is considered as an “arm of the Israeli government”.
Contracts reviewed by the BBC show that the organization has allocated occupied land to the construction of illegal settlements, while construction is prohibited in these areas. Satellite images also confirm that illegal settlements have taken place in these lands.
Amana, another key player in this field, has been involved in the construction of settlements for several decades, and recently documents have been obtained that show that this organization financed the construction of illegal settlements. The revealed documents show that Amana gave huge sums of money to the settlers to build on the lands allocated to the illegal settlements. Although this organization has been active for many years in the field of settlements that the Israeli regime considers legal, but its connection with illegal settlements is a new issue.
Violence and harassment against Palestinian communities
In addition to these direct and secret supports, the Israeli regime also helps the expansion of settlements by legalizing illegal settlements. In the past year alone, the occupation regime has begun the process of legalizing at least 10 illegal settlements and granted at least 6 more “fully legal” status.
The proliferation of illegal settlements is strongly linked to the increase in violence and abuse against Palestinian communities. Earlier this year, the British government sanctioned eight extremist settlers for violent behavior against Palestinians. Even the main supporter of the Israeli regime, the United States, has imposed sanctions against the settlers in this regard.
Avi Mizrahi, the former commander of the Israeli army, admitted to the BBC that illegal settlements will increase violence and said: “When illegal settlements are located in an area, they clash with the Palestinians living in that area.”
International law condemns both illegal settlements and so-called legal settlements. According to these laws, the transfer of civilians to the occupied areas is an illegal act, but the extremist settlers claim that this land belongs to them historically and religiously.
The main goal of expanding illegal settlements
According to the BBC, expelling Palestinians is the main goal of expanding illegal settlements. A member of the “Peace Now” organization, which works against the settlements, told the BBC that the settlers consider themselves the “protectors” of these lands and take actions aimed at expelling the Palestinians.
Extremist settlers consider themselves the representatives of the government, the judiciary and the police. Meanwhile, the “International Court of Justice” in a historic statement in July 2024 asked the Israeli regime to stop building new settlements and evacuate the settlers from the occupied West Bank.
According to the British media, despite the rapid growth of illegal settlements and settlers’ violence against Palestinians, the Israeli regime does not take significant measures to curb the expansion of these settlements and facilitates their development through organizations such as the World Israeli Organization and the Amana Organization.
