The Washington Post, July 1, 2017

Avihai Boaron stands at the construction site for a new Jewish settlment built by the Israeli government in the West Bank, on June 26. (William Booth/The Washington Post)

 

Amichai may be the first settlement in years given government approval, in planning and permits, but it is not the first new settlement or new construction. 

More than a hundred outposts deemed “illegal” or “unauthorized,” even by the Israeli government, have been constructed in the past two decades, including some that surround the new village of Amichai. Construction of new “neighborhoods” in existing settlements is also routine and done with government approval.