With Trump back, Israeli settlers revive goal of full control of West BankSHILO, West Bank, Nov 23 (Reuters) - After a record expansion of Israeli settlement activity, some settler advocates in the occupied West Bank are looking to Donald Trump to fulfil a dream of imposing sovereignty over the area seen by Palestinians as the heart of a future state.
The West Bank has been transformed by the rapid growth of Jewish settlements since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned at the head of a far-right nationalist coalition two years ago. During that time, an explosion in settler violence that has led to U.S. sanctions.
In recent weeks, Israeli flags have sprouted on hilltops claimed by some settlers in the West Bank's Jordan Valley, adding to worries among many local Palestinians of greater control of those areas. Some settlers prayed for Trump's victory before the election.
"We have high hopes. We're even buoyant to a certain extent," said Yisrael Medad, an activist and writer who supports Israel absorbing the West Bank, speaking to Reuters about Trump's victory in the house he has lived in for more than four decades in the West Bank settlement of Shilo..................
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-settlers-set-sights-trump-support-full-control-west-bank-2024-11-23/
