Israeli settlers set up new illegal outpost on Palestinian land

Settlers, with the support of the Israeli army, have set up a new illegal outpost on private Palestinian land near the village of Lubban ash-Sharqiya on the highway between Ramallah and Nablus.

The outpost is located between Lubban ash-Sharqiya and Sinjil, close to where Tuesday’s shooting of four Israeli settlers took place near the illegal settlement of Eli in the occupied West Bank.

The settlers were killed by two Palestinian gunmen a day after five Palestinians were killed – including one child, Ahmed Saqr – in the Jenin refugee camp during a large-scale Israeli military incursion which left at least 91 people wounded during the nine-hour raid. A second child, Sadeel Naghnaghiyeh, succumbed to her wounds on Wednesday morning.

New outpost close to village settlers attacked recently

Settlers set up six mobile homes Thursday morning, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

A Wafa correspondent said Israeli army bulldozers levelled land in the area to prepare it for the establishment of the settlement outpost.

Lubban ash-Sharqiya was one of the villages targeted in attacks by settlers on Wednesday night following the shooting near Eli.

In the attacks, at least three people were hospitalised with injuries sustained from live ammunition, while 45 people required treatment after being hit with rubber-coated bullets.

One child, Ismail Owais, was reported to have been beaten on the head and back by settlers.

#BREAKING: Israeli settlers beat up the #Palestinian child Ismail Owais, causing injuries to his head and back near Nablus city. #FreePalestine #Nablus #IsraeliCrimes pic.twitter.com/MkMG00wOpI

— Wafa News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) June 20, 2023

Israel issued approval for 1,000 new homes in an illegal settlement

The latest move comes after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the building of 1,000 new homes in the illegal settlement of Eli as a response to the attack that had killed four settlers.

Netanyahu and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich “agreed to move ahead immediately” with the planning, a statement by the prime minister’s office said, without giving further details on the timetable.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to immediately “cease all settlement activities” in occupied Palestinian territory on Tuesday, describing Israel’s plans to advance the building of Israeli settlements as driving “tensions and violence” and being a major obstacle to lasting peace.