‘Israeli settlers surround our home’: Palestinian village under weekly attack.

At a conference of settlement leaders held in July, the IDF commander in the West Bank, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, said that the agricultural centers “fit well” with Israel’s concept of security, “which is operational, as well as ethical and legal.”

“All this greatly strengthens security,” he said.

The current Israeli government has so far provided 19 billion shekels ($6.2 billion) to expand settlements in the West Bank, and now wants another 600 million shekels ($196 million) for settlement programs, Peace Now reports.

The government, which includes religious-nationalist settlers among its cabinet ministers, has lifted a 20-year ban on Israeli settlements in the northern Palestinian city of Jenin.

Construction is moving forward on more than 12 settlements, including several new military sites near the Jenin refugee camp – Israel’s first military presence in Palestinian-controlled territory under the Oslo Accords.

Hagit Ofran Keslam said the rapid construction now underway in Jenin is part of the Israeli government’s broader push to expand settlements in the West Bank ahead of Israeli elections in October.

And, she says, Israel is looking for ways to funnel government money to settlers, who are illegal under Israeli law, for roads, “security needs” or by establishing “temporary areas” in new areas designated for settlement.