West Bank settlements will grow, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep establishing settlements in the occupied West Bank despite international pressure, telling settlers that more communities and farms would follow.

“We cannot ignore the numbers: 104 communities that we established and legalised together, and 160 farms, with more to come,” Netanyahu told an event for settlers late Tuesday, according to a statement from his office.

Netanyahu told attendees they were “fulfilling the vision of the Land of Israel” and added: “You are preparing the ground for a very large wave of immigration that will come.”

Netanyahu is facing tight elections on October 27 and leads one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history. His government has rapidly approved construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Outposts, often made up of a few mobile homes or makeshift structures, are illegal even under Israeli law, but their approval and legalisation have surged in recent years.

Israel has faced growing international outrage over settlement expansion and rising violence by settlers against Palestinians. Last week, key European leaders condemned a major settlement project after Israeli authorities opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area.

The E1 plan was given the green light by Israel last year and affects the territorial contiguity of the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis live there in settlements, alongside about three million Palestinians.