Settlers Expand Outposts Across West Bank, Israel

Israeli settlers inaugurated a synagogue at the revived Homesh settlement in the occupied West Bank, where they celebrated with Torah scrolls, singing and dancing, while some carried rifles. Palestinians in the nearby village of Burqa say the settlement restricts access to privately owned farmland, and rights groups link its expansion to broader limits on Palestinian movement and increased settler violence. Israel dismantled Homesh in 2005 but approved its reestablishment last year, while most of the international community considers West Bank settlements illegal under international law; Israel disputes that position, citing security and historical claims. Separately, Jewish settlers established an unauthorized grazing outpost in Israel’s western Galilee near the Palestinian town of Majd Al-Krum, prompting fears that a West Bank tactic for expanding control over land is being replicated inside Israel. Hundreds of local residents and activists protested the outpost, and police arrested several demonstrators.