Israeli occupiers began establishing an illegal settlement outpost in a village in the Masafer Yatta region of Hebron governorate in the southern occupied West Bank under the protection of the army, a Palestinian official said Wednesday.
Khalil Hathaleen, head of the Umm al-Khair village council, told Anadolu that occupiers had “started building a new settlement neighborhood in the middle of the village by installing caravans, erecting fences, and paving roads.”
Hathaleen explained that the new outpost cuts Umm al-Khair into two sections and blocks roads used by students and residents.
He said Umm al-Khair “has been subjected to a fierce and ongoing campaign by occupiers,” adding that construction of the settlement neighborhood has accelerated since midnight with the aim of “tightening pressure on residents and displacing them.”
“The goal is to expel the people, but we are staying here,” he said.
