Full Focus

A pedestrian carrying an umbrella walks through a Memorial Day display of United States flags on the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts May 23, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Photos of the week

Our top photos from the past week.   Slideshow 

Pictures

Photo

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Photo

Weird homes

Home is where the heart is, no matter what unusual form that home may take.  Slideshow 

Photo

The drone wars

The frontlines of America's covert drone program.  Slideshow 

Sponsored Links

Two new Israeli settler outposts erected in West Bank

Related Topics

JERUSALEM | Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:48am EDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli settlers have set up two new unauthorized outposts in the occupied West Bank, the anti-settlement Peace Now group said on Wednesday.

Hagit Ofran, who monitors settlement activity for Peace Now, said about eight prefabricated homes were placed near the settlement of Tzofim and another five outside the settlement of Talmon.

She said the two new sites were connected to power and water lines serving the nearby settlements, a departure from previous cases in which outposts erected without Israeli government permission have been self-sustaining.

An Israeli Defence Ministry official said demolition orders had been issued against the dozen or so temporary structures at the two locations. He declined to say when they might be removed.

The United Nations deems all Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal. Israel captured the territory in a 1967 war and Palestinians seek to make the West Bank part of a future state that includes the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Palestinians say settlements would deny them a viable country. Israel cites historical and Biblical links to the West Bank and Jerusalem and says the future of settlements should be decided in peace talks.

Some 311,000 Israeli settlers and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank.

(Writing by Ori Lewis, Editing by Jeffrey Heller)
World
United Nations
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (5)
Abulafiah wrote:
Two more *illegal* Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Palestinians are supposed to just sit there and watch as there lands is stolen by Israelis.

This is exactly why there will never be peace. Israel doesn’t want it. Israel wants land.

Oct 31, 2012 10:59am EDT  --  Report as abuse
boreal wrote:
Two new illegal Jewish settlements, a gift to the new US president.

Oct 31, 2012 11:36am EDT  --  Report as abuse
RudyHaugeneder wrote:
It is time the world’s Jewish community said it is time to halt this Lebensraum invasion and, instead, offer a significant economic and social helping hand to their Palestinian neighbors rather than trying to evict or kill them.

Oct 31, 2012 11:48am EDT  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »