By Fayha Shalash – Ramallah
Illegal Jewish settlers erect colonial outposts under the protection of the Israeli army in the West Bank. (Photo: WAFA)
Palestinian residents of the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, are engaged in resisting attempts by illegal Jewish settlers to establish settlement outposts on their lands.
The village is constantly exposed to systematic attacks from groups of settlers, with full protection from the Israeli army.
Especially starting on October 7, the start of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, Palestinians living in the area noticed that the settlers’ attempts became more frequent.
Three Outposts Established
Muhammad Sumrain, a resident of Burqa, told the Palestine Chronicle that nine Israeli settlements currently surround the village on all sides. There is only one way to access the village, where Israeli soldiers often set up a military checkpoint.
The main entrance to the village has been closed for more than 20 years, and residents are not allowed to use it.
Sumrain told us that the last settlement outpost is called Tzur Harel and was established on the northwestern side of the village.
“In the beginning, illegal settlers claimed that they were herding sheep and prevented the people from approaching the area,” Sumrain told us.
“Later, we found that they had set up a tent, which turned into mobile homes and eventually into a settlement outpost,” he added.
One of the settlement groups’ leaders in the West Bank, close to the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, is reportedly building roads for the new settlement outposts and providing them with the necessary services, under full government support.
In the last few months, Jewish settlers established three settlement outposts on the lands of Burqa. Meanwhile, the village has been repeatedly subjected to violent rampages by settlers, including burning homes and crops and destroying Palestinian vehicles.
“At least 400 old olive trees were burned by settlers over the last month. Those who established the outpost are among the most extremist and aggressive settlers in the West Bank,” Sumrain said.
The outpost was established in an area of four dunams. However, Palestinians are prevented from accessing more than 500 dunams in its vicinity, under many pretexts.
‘Decisive’ Plan
The acceleration of the construction of settlement outposts hides a political goal: Israeli authorities aim to fragment Palestinian geographical contiguity in order to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Hassan Mlihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization for Defending Bedouin Rights, told The Palestine Chronicle that statistics indicate that there are at least 94 pastoral settlement outposts in the West Bank, 15 of which were established after October 7.
These outposts have been built within the framework of a plan by far-right Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The so-called ‘Decisive Plan’ was announced in 2017, before Smotrich became a minister. It promotes settlement expansion, land seizure, and the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“Legitimizing the settlement outposts is one of the main priorities of Smotrich’s plan, which aims to purge the so-called Area C of the Palestinian population,” Mlihad said.
“The plan aims to legitimize the pastoral settlement outposts and establish more settlements, especially on the eastern highlands of the West Bank. Additionally, it includes the creation of a settlement belt, which would transform the West Bank into ghettos and cantons,” he added.
Since he became the minister of finance in 2017, Smotrich has worked to legalize 15 outposts.
According to Al-Baidar, he formed a committee within the Ministry of Defense and produced a document listing the outposts that he intends to legalize, also setting a timetable.
“An actual demographic battle is taking place in Area C. Therefore, the occupation government seeks to legitimize more pastoral settlements, in order to create a different demographic reality, in which the number of Israelis exceeds that of Palestinians.”
“One of the most important goals of this strategy is that of confining the Palestinians to areas classified as A and B by the Oslo Accords. Eventually, Palestinians living in Area B will also be deported,” he continued.
The location of the outposts is not selected randomly but is part of a specific strategy.
Currently, pastoral settlements cover nearly 10 percent of the entirety of the West Bank.
Most of the settlement outposts are concentrated in the central areas of the West Bank to separate the north from the south and create a permanent fragmentation that would make it impossible for a Palestinian state to see the light.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Fayha’ Shalash is a Ramallah-based Palestinian journalist. She graduated from Birzeit University in 2008 and she has been working as a reporter and broadcaster ever since. Her articles appeared in several online publications. She contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
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