Everything you know about settlements in Judea and Samaria is wrong

Few seem to know about the Palestinian Authority's vast illegal settlement program in Judea and Samaria and the strategy behind it. That is because the news media has not reported on it.

If you follow media coverage of Israel’s settlements in Judea and Samaria, then I have some bad news. You probably have no idea what is going on.

Lies, distortions, propaganda, and false premises, are endemic. It is time to marshal the facts.

Israeli’s settlements in Judea and Samaria have been in the news lately. The US and Europe imposing sanctions on some extremist settlers, Donald Trump’s re-election to the US presidency and his appointment of settlement supporter Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Jerusalem, and Far Right Israeli politicians calling for Israel to annex the region have all made headlines.

However, what has not made headlines - what never even makes the news - is the Palestinian Authority (PA) building swathes of settlements illegally in direct violations of the Oslo Accords.

In fact, there are vastly more illegal Palestinian buildings as Israeli ones. There are 81,317 illegal Palestinian structures in Area C, compared with 4,111 illegal Israeli structures (which includes bizarre things such as bathroom extensions built while there was a settlement freeze.)¹

The PA’s illegal building has multiple strategic aims. I have written about the illegal Palestinian construction over ancient Jewish archaeological sites and how the PA is trying to erase Jewish history and evidence of Jewish indigeneity.

This construction is also designed to encircle and isolate Jewish settlements and stoke international anger at Israel. Understanding the PA’s actions and goals makes the whole issue look very different to what is commonly reported.

The Israeli-Palestinian dispute is a complex one, so you might want to grab a coffee and a prune Danish while we do a quick review of the history. This is essential to understanding what is happening and who is and who is not allowed to build where.