A report by Israeli settlement watchdogs says settlers have used grazing to seize control of 14 percent of the occupied West Bank through the establishment of shepherding outposts in recent years.
In their report, “The Bad Samaritan”, Israeli NGOs Peace Now and Kerem Navot said that in the past three years, 70 percent of all land seized by settlers was “taken under the guise of grazing activities”.
Settlers in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, use herding to establish a presence on agricultural lands used by Palestinian communities and gradually deny them access to these areas, according to the report.
To force Palestinians out, settlers resort to harassment, intimidation and violence, “with the backing of the Israeli government and military”, the watchdogs said.
“Israeli authorities make living conditions very difficult, but settler violence is really the main trigger why people leave lately – they have nothing to protect themselves”, said Allegra Pacheco, director of the West Bank Protection Consortium, a group of international NGOs.
