With media attention focused on the Lebanon war, Israeli wildcat settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank have mushroomed in recent months, a watchdog group has said.
Some 31 outposts sprang up in the West Bank as work on developing infrastructure, access routes as well as the installation of new mobile homes has steamed ahead in violation of the internationally backed roadmap for peace, the anti-settlement Peace Now watchdog said Tuesday.
“In the past months, the government of Israel has continued to evade its responsibility to evacuate the unauthorized outposts in the West Bank,” a report said.
“It appears that the summer of 2006, marked by the fighting in south Lebanon, provided a golden opportunity for the settlers to deepen their hold on the land without the media being available to cover it,” it said.
In 12 illegal outposts, the construction of permanent homes has likewise continued without hindrance from the authorities, it said.
Labels: Israel, Palestine
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