Thousands of Israelis, including far-right ministers and lawmakers, took part in a heavily guarded march to a settlement outpost in the occupied West Bank on Monday. The route led to the Eviatar outpost south of the Palestinian city of Nablus. The aim was to show solidarity with the Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
On Friday, two young sisters were killed in an attack in the West Bank and their mother was critically injured. The army continues to search for the Palestinian suspects. The opposition criticized that the solidarity march kept the security forces from their actual tasks in these tense times.
The unauthorized Eviatar outpost was cleared about two years ago after an agreement with residents. However, members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government are seeking legalization and resettlement of Eviatar.
Palestinians from nearby towns claim the land as their property. Several Palestinians have been killed during protests at the site in recent years.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there today. The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state.
Israel distinguishes between settlements created with government approval and “wild settlements” that are intended to be retrospectively legalized by law. From an international perspective, however, all settlements are illegal. At the end of 2016, the UN Security Council called on Israel to completely stop settlements in the occupied territories. (dpa)
To home page
