Hamas: ‘Ash al-Ghurab’ Settlement Marks Dangerous Escalation in Annexation Policy
Hamas official warns that the new Israeli settlement east of Bethlehem is a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing annexation and forced realities on occupied Palestinian land.
Palestine | PUREWILAYAH.COM - Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi has condemned the opening of the Ash al-Ghurab settlement east of Bethlehem, warning that the move represents a dangerous escalation in Israel’s settlement policy and a deliberate attempt to entrench annexation by force on occupied Palestinian land.
Mardawi said the inauguration of the settlement by Israeli settlers, led by far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, reflects a systematic strategy aimed at imposing faits accomplis on the ground, tightening the encirclement of West Bank governorates, and advancing forced displacement against the Palestinian population.
Settlement Expansion as Annexation Strategy
Mardawi stressed that the establishment of new settlements such as Ash al-Ghurab is part of a broader, coordinated plan to reshape the geography of the occupied West Bank in favor of annexation, in open defiance of repeated international warnings and resolutions.
Mardawi emphasized that these settlement policies will not alter the Palestinian identity of the land nor grant the occupation any legitimacy.
Instead, he said, they will intensify popular anger and reinforce the Palestinian people’s determination to remain on their land and defend their rights.
He called for the widest possible mobilization and unity to confront settlement expansion, urging strengthened Palestinian presence and steadfastness in targeted areas facing intensified colonization.
A Call for International Responsibility
Mardawi also urged international and human rights institutions to assume their responsibilities toward Israeli settlement crimes and to take concrete steps to hold occupation leaders accountable for their ongoing violations of international law.
Earlier on the same day, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accompanied by Settlement Affairs Minister Orit Strook, officially inaugurated the Ash al-Ghurab settlement, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Israeli media reported that the settlement was built at a strategic point linking eastern parts of the Etzion settlement bloc with the Herodion area near Jerusalem, and currently houses a small number of settler families.
The move underscores Israel’s continued expansion of illegal settlements across occupied Palestinian territory, a practice widely recognized as a violation of international law. (PW)