Nablus: Israeli colonists have set up a new colonial outpost on Palestinian land in the village of Qaryut, located south of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, according to local sources.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA, Yusuf al-Haj Mohammad, the Deputy Head of the Qaryut Village Council, reported that the colonists initiated the outpost by setting up tents, with plans to gradually replace them with caravans and further expand. Most of the affected land is owned by Palestinian expatriates living abroad, complicating protection efforts against the encroachment of colonial activities.
Murad Shtewi, the director of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission’s office in the northern West Bank, highlighted the increasing threat of land theft in the region. He noted that colonists have been engaging in frequent attacks on local residents, including preventing them from harvesting olives and physically assaulting them. The latest incident involves the installation of tents as a deliberate effort to seize land and establish a new outpost.
Shtewi urged landowners to report the situation to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission immediately, stressing the need for legal action to resist the colonists’ activities and prevent the illegal appropriation of Palestinian land. He also pointed out that since October 7, 2023, colonists have become more active in expanding their presence in the northern West Bank, encouraged by Israeli government policies and actions.
He explained that the establishment of outposts has become a strategic part of Israel’s plan to divide the West Bank, particularly in the northern regions, and disrupt territorial continuity for a future Palestinian state. He further stated that Israel’s plan to increase the colonist population in the northern West Bank to one million by 2050 indicates an ongoing silent annexation of Palestinian land, as evidenced by the widening of roads, confiscation of resources, and provision of infrastructure such as water, electricity, and public services to the settlements.