West Bank

In West Bank, Israeli And Palestinian Archaeologists Both Lay Claim To Heritage

10:29am February 16, 2017

by Daniel Estrin

The military's archaeology unit conducts excavations but keeps some information about the digs secret. "This approach raises suspicions," says an Israeli archaeologist who favors greater transparency.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved more than 3,000 new settler homes, including at least 20 in Beit El.

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A Jewish Settlement In The West Bank Has Ties To Trump Administration

3:50pm February 10, 2017

by Joanna Kakissis

One of the fundraisers for a group that's raised millions for a seminary in the settlement is Trump's pick for ambassador to Israel. Trump and his son-in-law have made donations to the group.

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Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim on Tuesday, after Israel's parliament approved a law that retroactively legalizes thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully

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Israel Passes Law Retroactively Legalizing Settler Homes On Palestinian Land

12:29pm February 07, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

The law voted on by Israel's parliament legalizes almost 4,000 unauthorized homes on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Critics say the move is a massive blow to any future peace deal.

Jewish settlers set tires ablaze at the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, on Wednesday.

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Israel Starts Evacuating Illegal Outpost; Approves 3,000 New West Bank Units

3:13pm February 01, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

There's been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20 — and the U.S. president is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion.

Tuesday's announcement includes plans for new construction in the Israeli settlement of Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israel Says It Will Build 2,500 New Settlement Homes In The West Bank

4:47pm January 24, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

This is the second announcement of construction plans this week. President Trump, who took office on Friday, is widely expected to be more supportive of settlement expansion than his predecessor.

Imad Abu Shamsiyeh, a Palestinian shoemaker from Hebron, filmed an Israeli soldier shooting a badly wounded Palestinian attacker in the head last year. A military court convicted the soldier of manslaughter. Abu Shamsiyeh says he's gotten death threats fo

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In West Bank, Witnesses To Conflict Are Using Video To Document What They See

6:45pm January 23, 2017

by Joanna Kakissis

This week, Israel will sentence a soldier convicted of killing a wounded Palestinian man last year in Hebron. A Palestinian shoemaker recorded a video of the shooting, which was shown at the trial.

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Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who was caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay on the ground, speaks with his lawyers upon his arrival for a hearing at a military appeals court in Tel Aviv on Nov. 23, 2016. Azaria has

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Israeli Soldier Convicted Of Manslaughter For Killing Wounded Palestinian

3:01pm January 04, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

After a Palestinian assailant had been shot and wounded, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier shot the motionless man in the head. The shooting was captured on camera by a human rights activist.

A Palestinian man walks near a construction site for new Israeli housing in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa in September. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as a capital of a future state and object to Israeli building in the eastern part o

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7 Things To Know About Israeli Settlements

5:27pm December 29, 2016

West Bank settlements have expanded under every Israeli government over the past half-century. Nearly 10 percent of Israel's Jewish population now lives on land captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The U.N. Security Council has condemned Israel's construction of settlements, with Ambassador Samantha Power saying the project hurts Israel's security. In this photo from March, soldiers guard the Gush Etzion junction near a cluster of settlements in the

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Security Council Condemns Israeli Settlements As U.S. Abstains From Vote

4:34pm December 23, 2016

by Bill Chappell

In explaining the U.S. position, Ambassador Samantha Power said the move doesn't diminish U.S. support for Israel.

Attorney David Friedman (left) exits U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden, N.J., with Donald Trump and Trump's daughter Ivanka in a 2010 case involving Atlantic City casinos. The president-elect plans to nominate Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Trump's Pick For Ambassador To Israel: 'End The 2-State Narrative'

9:35am December 16, 2016

by Mark Katkov

Bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman is a longtime supporter of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has questioned the need for a Palestinian state.