[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]JERUSALEM – Thousands of Israelis, including ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, marched to an evacuated Jewish outpost in the West Bank on Monday to support settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
During the Passover holiday week, as tensions between Israelis and Palestinians rose, Israelis from across the country travelled to the outpost of Evyatar, waving Israeli flags and chanting religious songs and slogans.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, Israeli troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinian protesters in nearby Beita, injuring 17 people with rubber bullets and two with gas canisters to the head.
Since January, more than 90 Palestinians, as well as at least 19 Israelis and foreigners, have been killed.
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In a statement, the Samaria regional council, which represents settlers in the northern West Bank, quoted its leader, Yossi Dagan, as saying that settlements were the answer to what he called a wave of terror.
At the Israeli protest, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu’s far-right security chief, said, “Now they understand why I have been pushing for the establishment of a national guard.”
Ben-Gvir, who was flanked by heavy guard on Monday, was appointed last week to lead a national guard focused on Arab unrest.
After political rivals expressed concern that the force would devolve into a sectarian militia, Netanyahu resisted giving him direct command.
Many countries consider Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Jordan captured in a 1967 war, to be a violation of international law. Israel denies this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security concerns.
The mother of two Israeli sisters killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank last week died of her injuries, hospital officials said on Monday. All three were dual citizens of Israel and the United Kingdom.
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“Tragic news that Leah Dee has also died as a result of the abhorrent attacks in the West Bank,” tweeted British Foreign Minister James Cleverly. “There is no excuse for the murders of Leah and her two daughters, Maia and Rina.”
The assailant was still being sought by Israeli forces.
The far-right Israeli government, which took office in late December, supports the recognition and expansion of Jewish settlements in West Bank territory where Palestinians hope to establish an independent state.
Last month, the Israeli parliament amended a 2005 law that ordered Jewish settlers’ evacuation from four West Bank settlements, a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority and the European Union.
In February, Israel retroactively recognised eight illegal West Bank outposts, which were also condemned by international organisations. Evyatar was not among them.
Since the 1967 war, Israel has built approximately 140 settlements on land that Palestinians see as the foundation of a future state. Aside from the authorised settlements, settlers have established a slew of outposts without government permission.
Since 2014, US-sponsored statehood talks have been stalled, while Jewish settlements have grown.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
