Israeli settlers have set up a new ”rogue” settlement in the West Bank in response to a deadly Palestinian roadside attack, Israel’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The new ”settlement outpost” was set up earlier this week near Sinjil village in the Ramallah area after a young settler was killed in an ambush on May 6.
Settlers carved out a road with bulldozers leading to the rogue settlement, which has been placed under Israeli army protection although it was set up without authorisation, Yediot said.
Around 50 such Jewish outposts have been established in the West Bank since right-wing hardliner Ariel Sharon, a supporter of settlements, was elected prime minister in February 2001, according to the settlers’ council.
They are made up of a handful of caravans and tents pending more permanent construction.
In March, Israel’s left-wing Peace Now movement said there were 34 new settlements composed of 250 buildings that had been constructed in the occupied Palestinian territories since February 2001.
The group conducted an aerial survey showing that most of the new sites were between 700 and 2000 metres from existing settlements.
A study published by human rights organisation B’Tselem in May said settlers control nearly 42% of the occupied West Bank through a strategic placement of communities and buffer zones.
Sharon has consistently ruled out negotiating on settlements with the Palestinians, despite objections from the Labour party, his main partner in Israel’s unity government.
More than 200 000 Jews live in around 150 settlements across the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
A freeze on settlement building was highlighted by the Mitchell report as a key confidence-building measure needed to revive political negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Former US senator George Mitchell was responsible for drafting the May 2001 blueprint to guide the Israelis and Palestinians towards peace talks. – Sapa-AFP