Israeli occupiers began moving on Sunday into the newly established Emek Dotan settlement, built on Palestinian land in Arraba, west of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.
Israel’s Channel 7 reported that trucks carrying equipment arrived at the site as the first occupier families belonging to the settlement’s founding group moved into newly constructed buildings.
An official inauguration ceremony was scheduled for later Sunday, with several Israeli government ministers, Knesset members and other public figures expected to attend.
Those expected at the ceremony include Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Security Cabinet Minister Zeev Elkin, and lawmakers Keti Shitrit, Boaz Bismuth and Nissim Vaturi, according to the report.
Zeev Hever, secretary-general of the Amana settlement organisation, and Rabbi Haim Baruch, who heads the Yeshivat Beror Hayil institutions in Lod and Tiberias, were also expected to participate. Graduates of Baruch’s religious school are reportedly among the settlement’s first occupiers.
The establishment of Emek Dotan forms part of a broader initiative led by the Samaria Regional Council to create 19 new settlements across the occupied West Bank.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.