West Bank settlement outposts boom in recent years – Israeli watchdog

Israeli settlers have established dozens of unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank in recent years, an Israeli watchdog group said on Monday. Peace Now added that most of them were founded since President Donald Trump took office.

The settlers have founded 32 remote West Bank outposts since 2012, often with tacit government support, the group said in a new report.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek these areas as part of a future state.

Most of the new outposts are farms that aim to take over large tracts of land at the expense of Palestinians and are often publicly funded, AP reported, citing the watchdog.