{"id":1783,"date":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/07\/07\/israel-is-practicing-settlement-on-four-fronts\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","slug":"israel-is-practicing-settlement-on-four-fronts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=1783","title":{"rendered":"Israel is practicing settlement on four fronts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The IDF is occupying Lebanon and Syria, while Israelis build \u201csettlements in all but name\u201d in Cyprus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just approved more than a dozen new Jewish settlements in the West Bank. But this latest wave of expansion is just the beginning, as different factions within Israel want to push its borders further into Lebanon, Syria, and beyond.<\/p>\n

In early July, Netanyahu approved plans to establish 13 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The settlements will be constructed along the main north-south road linking the Palestinian cities of Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem, which is already dotted with dozens of settler outposts. The majority of these were illegally constructed, then retroactively legalized by the Israeli government over the last two decades.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Israeli
Israel isn\u2019t leaving Lebanon and Syria may be next<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As of mid-2026, there are approximately 350 Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, with around 700,000 settlers living on Palestinian land. This colonization of the West Bank was ruled illegal by the International Criminal Court in 2024, with the court\u2019s 15 justices agreeing that \u201cthe transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel\u2019s maintenance of their presence, is contrary to article 49 of the fourth Geneva Convention.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Netanyahu and his hardline coalition partners reject this ruling, and consider the West Bank and East Jerusalem \u2013 which Israel seized during the 1967 Six-Day War \u2013 to be \u201cour homeland.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister hinted that his territorial ambitions also extend into Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Lebanon in Israel\u2019s sights<\/h2>\n

Israeli forces currently occupy around 600 sq km of southern Lebanon. Under the current framework deal between Israel and Lebanon, the Israeli military will withdraw from Lebanese territory once Hezbollah is disarmed. Hezbollah has shown no intention of disarming and has rejected the deal as \u201cnull and void.\u201d<\/em> However, even if the militant group were to lay down its weapons, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will likely remain in southern Lebanon \u201cindefinitely in order to protect our residents and communities from jihadist elements.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Netanyahu went a step further in his interview with Fox, claiming that some Christian villages in Lebanon \u201chave actually asked to be annexed to Israel because we protect them against the Hezbollah fanatics who want to kill them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Netanyahu: We also take care of our friends, especially the Christians in the Middle East. The Christian villages in Lebanon, some of them have actually asked to be annexed to Israel. We protect Christians in the Middle East pic.twitter.com\/SyeCM2PHMm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) July 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only the Christians in Lebanon who asked for our protection. It\u2019s the Druze, it\u2019s Muslims, the Sunni Muslims, and quite a few of the Shiite Muslims too,\u201d<\/em> he continued, adding that \u201cthey\u2019d like to free Lebanon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Netanyahu did not specify which Christian villages he was referring to, or whether he had spoken to any Christian officials in Lebanon. \u201cNo village in the south has made such a request,\u201d<\/em> Hanna al-Amil, president of the Christian municipality of Rmeish, told L\u2019Orient-Le Jour<\/a> on Monday. A separate statement signed by 15 villages in southern Lebanon described Netanyahu\u2019s remarks as \u201ccompletely fabricated\u201d<\/em> and \u201cunrelated to reality.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Hezbollah is not an anti-Christian organization, and its members have fought alongside Christians<\/a> against incursions from Syrian Islamic State jihadists. As such, Netanyahu\u2019s statement may be an attempt to legitimize the \u201cindefinite\u201d<\/em> military presence in Lebanon envisioned by the Israeli Defense Ministry.<\/p>\n

Settlers target Syria<\/h2>\n

As Netanyahu spoke to Fox News on Sunday, the IDF arrested around 100 settlers after they left an Israeli-occupied \u2018buffer zone\u2019 in southern Syria and set up camp on Syrian territory. The settlers \u2013 members of a group called the HaBashan Pioneers \u2013 have tried to set up an outpost on Syrian territory three times over the last year, with the IDF thwarting all three attempts.<\/p>\n

\n

\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05e7\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d1\u05de\u05d4\u05dc\u05da \u05e4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05d9 \u05de\u05d0\u05d7\u05d6 \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d1\u05d1\u05e9\u05df!! \ud83d\uded1\ud83d\uded1\ud83d\uded1<\/p>\n

\u05db\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u05e6\u05d1\u05d0 \u05d5\u05de\u05e9\u05d8\u05e8\u05d4 \u05de\u05e7\u05d9\u05e4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea \u05e4\u05e2\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d4\u05ea\u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05d4 \u05e9\u05d4\u05ea\u05d9\u05d9\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5 \u05d1\u05d1\u05e9\u05df. \u05dc\u05de\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u05e4\u05e1\u05d9\u05d1\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05de\u05d5\u05d7\u05dc\u05d8\u05ea \u05de\u05e6\u05d3 \u05d4\u05e4\u05e2\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05ea\u05d5\u05e2\u05d3\u05d4 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05e7\u05e9\u05d4 \u05de\u05e6\u05d3 \u05d7\u05dc\u05e7 \u05de\u05db\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d7\u05d5\u05df.
\u05d1\u05e0\u05d5\u05e1\u05e3 \u05de\u05d7\u05e8\u05d9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05db\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u05d0\u05ea \u05de\u05db\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d8\u05dc\u05e4\u05d5\u05df \u05db\u05d3\u05d9 \u05e9\u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d5\u05db\u05dc\u05d5 \u05dc\u05ea\u05e2\u05d3 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05de\u05d5\u05e4\u05e2\u05dc\u05ea \u05db\u05dc\u05e4\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd!! pic.twitter.com\/tJ85bi8tSJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05ea\u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05ea \u05d7\u05dc\u05d5\u05e6\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d1\u05e9\u05df (@HaluzeyHabashan) July 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe IDF strongly condemns the attempted border crossing and emphasizes that this is a serious incident and a criminal offense that endangers both IDF soldiers and civilians,\u201d<\/em> the Israeli military said in a statement. The HaBashan Pioneers \u2013 named after the biblical region encompassing southern Syria and the Golan Heights \u2013 have called on the Israeli government to \u201craze the Sunni villages in the Bashan and replace them with a Jewish settlement.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Unlike the West Bank settlers, the HaBashan Pioneers do not have the backing of the Israeli government, with hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir the only member of Netanyahu\u2019s cabinet to publicly express support for the group. However, the IDF\u2019s military occupation of southern Syria has expanded since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2024. At least ten military bases have been built in the once-demilitarized buffer zone that separated the Golan Heights from Syria proper, and Katz has also described the IDF\u2019s presence in this area as \u201cindefinite.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The soft settlement of Cyprus<\/h2>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT
Wired for War: Israel\u2019s Black Cube and the infiltration of Europe<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Israel\u2019s occupation of southern Lebanon has impeded peace talks between the US and Iran, while its expansion into Syria increases the risk of a clash with the coalition of jihadist groups that now form the core of President Ahmed al-Sharaa\u2019s security forces. Amid an increasingly uncertain situation in Israel, a third group \u2013 wealthy Israelis \u2013 are seeking security abroad.<\/p>\n

Between 2021 and 2025, Israelis have purchased more than 3,800 properties in Cyprus, most of them in Limassol, Larnaca, and Paphos. Approximately 12,000 Israeli families now live in Cyprus, up from 300 in 2003, the vast majority of them arriving after Israel\u2019s war on Gaza began in 2023.<\/p>\n

Last month, Israel\u2019s i24 News described Cyprus<\/a> as \u201cIsrael\u2019s civilian refuge\u201d<\/em> and \u201ca critical strategic asset for Israel.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cZionist schools are being built \u2013 that\u2019s what they call them \u2013 synagogues are being built,\u201d<\/em> Cypriot opposition leader Stefanos Stefanou warned last summer, claiming that Israeli land purchases are creating \u201csettlements in all but name,\u201d<\/em> which are \u201calmost inaccessible to anyone other than Israeli nationals.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

While this influx is entirely legal, it has been accompanied by increasing Israeli influence on the island\u2019s politics. Less than a week after Cyprus assumed the EU\u2019s rotating presidency this January, a series of covertly-recorded videos emerged exposing minor corruption schemes within President Nikos Christodoulides\u2019s government. The videos were recorded and publicized by Black Cube, an Israeli private intelligence firm with deep ties to the IDF\u2019s intelligence wing and the Mossad spy agency.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear who hired Black Cube to intervene against Christodoulides, who is not regarded as an opponent of Israel. However, RT has covered the company\u2019s work in depth<\/a> in our \u2018Wired for War\u2019 series, and found that it typically acts in Israel\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

\n

In the face of Ankara\u2019s escalating aggression, Israel is deepening one of the most important strategic alliances in the Eastern Mediterranean with Greece and Cyprus.
\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddfe<\/p>\n

Erdogan\u2019s Turkey has occupied northern Cyprus since 1974, has threatened Greece with war for decades\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/zeDwWOvKxP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05e2\u05de\u05d9\u05d7\u05d9 \u05e9\u05d9\u05e7\u05dc\u05d9 – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Settlement on four fronts<\/h2>\n

Israel\u2019s territorial expansion in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria, and the expansion of its influence in Cyprus, are not being driven by the same actors. The Israeli government backs ultra-Orthodox settlers in the West Bank, but opposes some of the more hardline groups in Syria. Private individuals are leading the Israeli property-buying spree in Cyprus, but the island\u2019s growing Israeli population is placing its government under increasing Israeli pressure \u2013 evident during Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli\u2019s visit to Nicosia last year, in which he called on the Cypriot government to \u201ccombat anti-Semitism\u201d<\/em> and step up security protection for Israeli expats.<\/p>\n

What remains unclear is whether this four-front expansion will strengthen and secure Israel, or set the Jewish state up for new clashes and conflicts.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The IDF is occupying Lebanon and Syria, while Israelis build \u201csettlements in all but name\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}