Israel preparing settlement plan targeting 100 sites in West Bank

Israeli settler groups have prepared a plan to seize 100 strategic locations in the Palestinian Authority-administered Area A of the occupied West Bank, according to a media report Monday.

The Israel Hayom newspaper reported that the plan, prepared by the Settler Farms Association and the Havat (Farms) Forum, aims to fundamentally reshape the map of the occupied territory.

The proposal outlines a mechanism for deploying forces to approximately 100 strategic sites in the West Bank on what it describes as an "execution day," said the report.

The locations are reportedly located in Area A, which, under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority.

The newspaper said the plan has been presented to Israeli government ministers and figures close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and is said to cover major Palestinian cities.

Muayyad Shaaban, Mueyyed Shaban, president of the Anti-Wall and Settlement Committee affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), described the proposal as a dangerous step in Israel's annexation of the occupied West Bank.

He argued that it reflects broader policies pursued under right-wing Israeli governments rather than an independent initiative by illegal settler groups.

The Israeli army carries out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and towns, often involving arrests, field interrogations and home searches.

Attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank since October 2023 have killed more than 1,173 Palestinians, injured 12,666 and led to the arrest of about 23,000, according to Palestinian figures.