Israeli settlers have established a new outpost on Mount Ebal, the mountain rising above the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials monitoring settlement activity. The site reportedly appeared early on Wednesday and is believed to have been set up with the involvement of the Samaria Regional Council and the settlement organisation Amana, signalling yet another step in the steady expansion of Israeli presence across Palestinian land.

Palestinian authorities warn that the move forms part of a broader drive to increase the settler population in the northern West Bank. Settler groups have promoted an initiative aimed at dramatically expanding numbers in the area they refer to as “Samaria”, with long-term plans envisioning the arrival of up to one million settlers. Officials monitoring land confiscation say such outposts often begin as small, informal encampments before later receiving official recognition, infrastructure and protection from Israeli occupation authorities.

The new site on Mount Ebal carries particular strategic weight due to its commanding view over Nablus and nearby Palestinian villages. Local officials say the location is also being framed through religious narratives that encourage settlement activity and tourism, a tactic they argue helps normalise the takeover of Palestinian land while strengthening Israeli control of the surrounding area.

The outpost also appears to align with decisions taken by the Israeli occupation cabinet in May 2025 approving the creation of more than twenty new settlement locations across the West Bank. Palestinian observers say such measures accelerate a broader pattern of territorial expansion unfolding alongside the genocidal war affecting Palestinians across the region.

By the end of 2024, the settler population in the occupied West Bank had reached roughly 770,000 people, spread across more than 180 settlements and hundreds of smaller outposts. As these numbers continue to rise, Palestinian communities warn that the expanding network of settlements is steadily fragmenting their land and tightening control over key areas surrounding major cities such as Nablus.