Occupied Jerusalem, June 17 (Petra) – Israeli media on Wednesday reported an escalating pace of settlement and displacement of Palestinians in the north of the occupied West Bank with construction projects meant as a status quo imposed by force.

Haaretz newspaper called the expansion a "revolution" led by settlers with wide governmental and military support, aimed at reviving and rebuilding four outposts evacuated some 20 years ago.

The settlement scheme is becoming a reality imposed by force of arms through a plan designed to displace tens of thousands of Palestinians from their lands, it said.

This activity accelerated immediately after the formation of the far-right government and has intensified significantly and reached a peak since October 7, 2023, said the daily.

It quoted senior officials of the Israeli army as warning that such steps and systematic displacement could ignite the conflict and destabilize the region.

Meanwhile, settler leaders in the government continued to make political gains, while the army provides full protection and support to pro-settlement groups on the ground, according to Haaretz.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said in a report that Israeli occupation authorities seized 283 dunums of Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem in May through four confiscation orders, citing security and military reasons.

Official data showed settlers have attempted to set up 12 new outposts during the month of May, mostly with an agricultural and pastoral nature across the governorates of Nablus (6 outposts), Salfit (2), and one each in Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, El-Bireh, and Qalqilya.

//Petra//SS