Israeli general praises illegal outposts driving Palestinian ethnic cleansing

Major-General Avi Bluth, head of Israel’s Central Command, praised illegal settler outposts in the West Bank as security assets during a conference organized by the Farm Union on Wednesday. He stated that the agricultural outposts “align well with the security concept” and “greatly strengthen security.” These outposts, illegal under both international and Israeli law, are seen by analysts as instrumental in the displacement of Palestinians. Ori Goldberg, an Israeli analyst, noted that these posts “serve the IDF agendas in that they control the tactical territory that the IDF can't.” A report from July 7 by Peace Now and Kerem Navot indicated that violence and harassment from 120 “farming outposts” established since October 2023 have displaced 118 Palestinian communities. Amnesty International has described these expulsions as a state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing.