Israeli general praises illegal outposts driving Palestinian ethnic cleansing

Israeli general praises illegal outposts driving Palestinian ethnic cleansing

The Israeli military commander responsible for the occupied West Bank has praised illegal settler outposts as security assets, laying bare the state support behind a network instrumental in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land.

Major-General Avi Bluth, head of Israel’s Central Command, told a conference organised by the Farm Union on Wednesday that the agricultural outposts “align well with the security concept. It does not contradict it”.

“It integrates with it, provided that this is also reflected in operational conduct, as well as ethical conduct, and in accordance with the law,” he said.

Like every Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory, the outposts are illegal under international law. They are also illegal under Israeli law.

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Palestinians attempt to extinguish a fire set by Israeli settlers on wheat fields in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on 3 July 2026 (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP) ...