Report: Colonial Settlements and Pastoral Farms Expand in Area Classified as (B) with Facilitation from the Occupation Army

SadaNews - A report prepared by the National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance to Settlement stated that the occupying state does not regard the agreements it concluded with the Palestinian side, despite the severe injustice these agreements have inflicted on the rights of Palestinians.

The report explained that in the Transitional Agreement, the West Bank was divided into three areas: (A), (B), and (C), each with its own administrative and security arrangements. In the area classified as (B), it was agreed that it would be subject to complete Palestinian administrative and civil control, while the responsibility for internal security and public order falls under shared authorities according to agreed-upon rules.

The report added that the occupying governments, particularly the Netanyahu-Smotrich and Ben-Gvir government, sidelined this, unleashing settler hordes, under the protection of the occupation army, to desecrate this area.

It pointed out that over the past two and a half years, settlers established at least 21 colonial outposts in area (B) of the West Bank. While Israeli army and government officials claim to dismantle these outposts, this has been nothing more than "dust in the eyes."

It noted that these outposts continue to proliferate and expand, with some becoming inhabited by families, while others include Jewish temples, and in some, coffee carts have been installed to serve visitors arriving at the sites.

The report indicated that the occupying government attempted to cover up this phenomenon, but human rights centers and Israeli media outlets revealed, for the first time a year and a half ago, the establishment of new colonial outposts in area (B), and this phenomenon has not stopped since then; on the contrary, it has continued to grow and expand.

It stated that the outposts established during 2024 remain in place, and many of them have expanded by adding buildings and bringing in new settlers, undermining one of the fundamental principles of the Oslo transitional agreement, according to which this area is subject to complete Palestinian civil authority, including planning and building powers.

It clarified that several Israeli media outlets reported that the Prime Minister of the occupying government, Benjamin Netanyahu, is fully aware of these developments, at a time when he claims before the international public that he has directed the evacuation of these colonial outposts, yet they continue to spread and expand year after year.

The report continued: At the end of 2024, the settlement monitoring team affiliated with the "Peace Now" movement documented seven new colonial outposts established in area (B), marking the first outposts to be constructed since the signing of the Oslo agreements.

It pointed out that these outposts have expanded since then, with several additional colonial outposts established as at least five new outposts were built in the agreed protected area east and south of Bethlehem, an area that has become a target for the efforts of the occupation government and settlers aimed at displacing the Palestinian presence.

The report highlighted the establishment of additional outposts in the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate, the hills south of Hebron, the Nablus governorate, and the areas east of Bethlehem and Hebron.

It explained that these settlement outposts have not witnessed such an expansion in the area classified as (B) during previous years, as in earlier periods, settlers established at least three colonial outposts that penetrated into this area after their establishment in area (C), such as: Kumi Uri near Yitzhar, Ma'aleh Rehavam east of Bethlehem, and Havat Gilad west of Nablus.

It clarified that in these instances, the occupation authorities would demolish the structures built within the area after protracted legal procedures, but the situation has changed completely with the current settlers' government, which has been accompanied by operations to displace Palestinian citizens in the contact areas.

It noted that dozens of homes have been demolished, and that a number of Palestinian residential communities have been displaced as a result of ongoing settlement violence and continuous pressure, while in some cases, settlers later moved into abandoned Palestinian homes.

It stated that the establishment of these new outposts is not limited to just setting up caravans but is accompanied by the opening of new access roads, intensive grazing of livestock, the seizure of water sources, and the displacement of Palestinian herding communities from vast areas.

The "Peace Now" movement drew attention to this danger threatening Palestinians in this area, explaining in its latest reports that "the establishment of colonial outposts deep in area (B) illustrates the government's expansionist agenda and its attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority. In addition to the extensive control over area (C), the occupation government allows settlers to extend their influence into areas that were transferred to Palestinian civil authority under the Oslo agreements."

It added that "the continued expansion of these outposts even after Netanyahu's public statement about the necessity of evacuating them shows that the occupying state is, in practice, violating the agreements it signed and fueling unprecedented tensions with the Palestinian people."