Israeli settlers erect a new settlement in the West Bank

Jan. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

A group of Israeli settlers erected a settlement on the West Bank on Friday in honor of the spiritual leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, Haim Drukman, who died in December.

The settlement would have been built by Drukman’s grandson in the vicinity of the Migdalim settlement and is already home to five families, according to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

The founders of this new settlement have specified that it has been erected near the Transamaria highway to alter Palestinian territorial contiguity, while Drukman’s grandson, Neve Schindler, has stressed that “it is the best way to commemorate” his grandfather.

“We call on the entire nation of Israel to come to strengthen and join our activities. The campaigns for Judea and Samaria — the Biblical name for the West Bank — do not stop for a moment. We need you to win,” Schindler said.

Drukman was one of the founders of the Gush Emumim (Believers Bloc) settlement movement, and later turned to the right and extreme right from center-right positions, where Religious Zionism now stands.

Ghasan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors the settlements in the Nablus governorate, has indicated that the settlement is in the vicinity of the village of Yurish and has pointed to the presence of several portable houses, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

For his part, a spokesman for the Unit of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT, for its acronym in English), has said in statements to the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’ that the matter is being investigated.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal under international law, although the Israeli authorities differentiate between those to which construction permits have been given and those to which they have not, as is the latter case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already announced before taking office that “the Jewish people have the exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas in the Land of Israel” and that he will push for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

Thus, he stressed that “the Government will promote and develop settlements in all parts of the Land of Israel: Galilee, the Negev, the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria –biblical name for the West Bank–“. The Palestinian Authority has already warned of the impact of these decisions on the peace process and the feasibility of reaching a two-state solution.

Shortly after taking office, the Government of Israel changed its position on the Homesh settlement, located in the West Bank, and stated that it will no longer call for the expulsion of settlers residing there, in a reversal of the decision of the previous Executive.