<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the dismantlement of unauthorized West Bank settler outposts as his government faces increasing scrutiny from the United States regarding violence against Palestinians.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Netanyahu’s directive applies to outposts built without authorization from the Israeli government, as reported by Reuters on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the decision.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This action represents a significant step for Netanyahu’s government, which includes strong supporters of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and has granted legal status to some communities that the United Nations considers illegal.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are hundreds of Israeli settler outposts in the region, typically consisting of caravans housing a dozen or so people. Over 465,000 Jews reside in West Bank settlements, and approximately 20,000 are living in illegal outposts, according to the Israel Policy Forum.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Reuters reported that Netanyahu’s decision is a direct response to criticism from the U.S., Israel’s closest ally.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Netanyahu’s decision follows comments from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who condemned the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians, describing them as acts of “terror.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“If there are squatters that come in and put up their own flags and take possession of something that does not belong to them, if they burn a car, if they torch a mosque, if they go into someone’s home and vandalize it, paint graffiti on the walls, that’s a criminal act. But it extends beyond a criminal act. It’s an act of terror,” Huckabee stated during a visit to the village of Turmus Ayya, where residents have reported frequent settler attacks over the past year.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Huckabee has previously spoken out against settler violence towards Palestinians. Shortly after he first addressed the issue, residents of the West Bank village of Bazariya reported that Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque and spray-painted a message on a wall reading “Huckabee regards from the terrorists” in Hebrew.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Settler violence in the West Bank has escalated since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent conflict in Gaza. Settler attacks against Palestinians exceeded 1,800 incidents in 2025, according to the U.N.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities, a figure that includes those killed by Israeli settlers, while dozens of Israelis have also been killed.</p>