Under cover of Israel’s wars in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Iran since 2023, the Israeli government has consolidated its control of the West Bank immeasurably.

Existing settlements have been expanded. New ones have been built. Unauthorized outposts have been legalized. Evacuated settlements have been reestablished.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government, which assumed office in December 2022, has increased settlement funding and pledged to advance policies to ensure that much of the West Bank remains in Israel’s hands, according to Chatham House, an independent policy think tank in Britain otherwise known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

The Israeli government, however, has not formally annexed the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six Day War.

In the latest developments, which were announced on April 9 and April 19, Israel’s security cabinet decided to establish 34 new settlements, while government ministers celebrated the resurrection of Sa-Nur, a settlement in the northern West Bank that was closed in 2005 when Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip.

Of the 34 settlements, some will be built from scratch and still others will be retroactively legalized. They will be located in Area C, which comprises about 60 percent of the West Bank and is fully under Israel’s occupation.

The Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, controls Area A and part of Area B.

Since returning to office, Netanyahu has green lighted the establishment of 103 settlements. By comparison, six new ones were constructed between 1993 and 2022.

There are currently a total of 144 settlements in the West Bank. If all of the 103 settlements are ultimately built, the figure would grow to 235.

Peace Now, an Israeli organization that closely monitors the construction and expansion of settlements, claims........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)