While the war in Gaza claims the most attention of global readers and viewers, the Israeli settlements in the West Bank expand at extraordinary speed, which changes the essence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is happening at a time when the level of violence is increasing and criticism from the US is being received.

Settlements Expansion

By 2024, the maximum area defined by Israel as state-owned was about 2,743 acres of land in the West Bank. This will include new settlement land in Jordan Valley, around 2000 Acres near Abu Dis, and a few hundred acres near Herodion National Park. Prior records of such declarations were seen in 1999 with 1285 acres. It is a procedure of re-zoning the state-owned state-owned land that is a prerequisite to the construction of settlements and a pointer that the company’s settlement activities will expand.

Increased Violence and Displacement

With the expansion of the settlement, cases of violence and harassment from the settlers have been on the increase. In this regard, the Israeli settlers have harassed and attacked the Palestinian farm owners and forcefully evicted some of them, particularly under the protection of the military. It has been said that the number of new unauthorized outposts rose to 26 in the West Bank since the start of this year, with 10 of these being established after the beginning of the Gaza war on 7th October. Those were responsible for the displacement of 21 Palestinian communities, 16 out of the start of the conflict that claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

International Condemnation

The world has also essentially turned its back on the above settlement activities, mainly due to the sovereignty of states. The UN was highly critical of the growth of settlements in the West Bank, asserting that it was inoperative and unlawful and made a sovereign and viable Palestinian state a dream. What can be described as systematic settlers’ violence and other infringements connected with settlement building has reached new records with 24,300 new illegal units of Israeli houses set within one year before October 2023”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated.

Most of the world’s nations, including the United States of America, Britain, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, have condemned these planned settlement initiatives that exist in Israel. The countries in question view the settlements as unjustified and taking place without the consent of the Palestinian side, thus stating that they are unlawful and infringe upon the principles of international law, which hinders peace significantly. The government of Israel shares the same goals and objectives of the settler movement: to consolidate its exploitative power over the region/area, further its control of the West Bank, and state its intention to annex it into the state of Israel.

Effect of the Incidents on the Day-to-Day Life of the Palestinians

Because of these enhanced settlement endeavors, living conditions have taken a terrible shape for many Palestinians in the West Bank. The military force in Israel is introducing more severe measures to control the movement of Palestinians; even more, roads are closed by cement barriers or heaps of stones and sand. Thus, Palestinians have to walk long, roundabout ways from home to work. Moreover, the settlers themselves started enforcing them, further enraging the situation.