Israel’s defense ministry revealed plans yesterday to expand the illegal outpost of Givat Salit, near Tubas in the north part of the West Bank.There are more than 100 settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law. There are a further 150 settlements which the Israeli government refers to as ‘outposts’ which are illegal under Israeli as well as international law.
Outposts are often issued with demolition orders. However these orders are rarely, if ever, carried out.
Previous Israeli governments had promised to remove Givat Salit, but now the Defense Ministry has commissioned its expansion with a view to granting it retroactive settlement status.
The recent Levy Commission report proposed granting settler status to all of the outposts in the West Bank.
The outpost controversy has grown in recent years with extremist settlers carrying out acts of violence against Palestinians in campaign called ‘price tagging’. The Price Tag campaign is aimed at threatening the Israeli government against acting against the outposts by trying to provoke a reaction from the Palestinian villages nearby. Mosques have been burnt down and olive groves destroyed in attempt to destabilize the situation in the occupied territories.
