Hundreds of Israelis march between rebuilt West Bank settlements during Sukkot

Hundreds of Israelis marched on Wednesday between newly rebuilt settlements in the northern West Bank to celebrate Sukkot, in what AFP called a symbolic show of return to an area until recently almost fully Palestinian. 1 2 They walked between Ganim and Kadim, which the Israeli government dismantled in 2005 and which were rebuilt this year under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 1 Settlers of all ages carried traditional bundles of fruit and branches, and the hilltop had inflatable castles and clowns. 2

Settler leader Yossi Dagan told the crowd that Israelis had "defeated Oslo" and promised to bring hundreds of thousands of Jews to the area, using its biblical name, Samaria. 1 Participant Yishai Gerstle, 35, who grew up in a northern West Bank settlement, said it was amazing to return with his children. 1 The army was deployed to protect the settlers, and the dirt road between the settlements was flanked by dozens of uprooted olive trees, which AFP described as a reminder of the Palestinian presence forced out. Prefabricated homes were waiting to be installed to expand the settlements. 1 2

AFP said 104 new settlements have been approved since Netanyahu returned to power in 2023, that more than 500,000 settlers live among three million Palestinians, and that settlements are illegal under international law; approvals have picked up ahead of elections on October 27. 1 2 AFP added that violence has soared in recent months, with near-daily settler attacks on Palestinians or their property and a recent fatal shooting of a settler by a Palestinian. 1