A/HRC/28/44 9. New outposts were also established during the period under review.9 Following the kidnapping on 12 June of three Israeli youths, who were later found murdered (see paras. 39 - 53 below and A/HRC/28/80/Add.1), four outposts were established in the same area where the incident took place, in the southern West Bank.10 The media reported that some Israeli right-wing groups declared that at least one of the outposts had been established in response to the kidnapping and killing of the three Israelis. 11 The creation of the outposts was reportedly supported by the municipalities of nearby settlements, which supplied trailer homes and basic electricity and water infrastructure.12 Two of the outposts were dismantled shortly afterwards by the Israeli authorities for being “illegal” under Israeli law. At the time of writing, the other two outposts were reportedly still in place (see A/HRC/28/80/Add.1).13 10. New housing units also advanced in East Jerusalem. On 27 October 2014, media reported that the Israeli Prime Minister’s office had advanced plans for 660 housing units in the Ramat Shlomo settlement and 400 in the Har Homa settlement.14 According to an Israeli non-governmental organization, the construction of additional housing units in Ramat Shlomo would reduce the buffer area between the settlement and the Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Hanina. In early November, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee approved the Ramat Shlomo plan, with the number of housing units reduced from 660 to 500.15 New housing units in Har Homa would effectively link the areas of this settlement and Givat Hamatos (see para. 7 above).16 11. During the night of 29 September 2014, Israeli settlers moved into six buildings in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, below the Old City. This appears to have expanded the settler presence in Silwan by about 100 new settlers, an increase of 35 per cent. It was reported that the buildings had been purchased, although OHCHR is aware that some of the Palestinian owners are taking legal action, claiming that they did not sell their property to the settlers. It is reported that Israeli security forces allowed private security guards hired by the settlers to protect their move to the buildings in the middle of the night. At the time of writing, the Israeli Police were protecting the new settlers from possible attacks from Palestinians.17 The new influx of settlers and the additional presence of the Israeli security forces in an area where the settlement presence has been expanding in recent years contribute to general tensions between Palestinians and Israeli settlers (A/69/348, paras. 31-32). 12. During the period under review, Israel undertook significant steps to enable further expansion of settlements. Following an earlier declaration of State land west of Bethlehem in April 2014 (ibid., para. 19), on 25 August 2014, the Israeli Civil Administration announced the declaration as State land a further 3,799 dunums (930 acres) around the settlement of Gva’ot, also in the vicinity of Bethlehem. 18 According to the Israeli media, the 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Outposts are settlements that, although often established with some kind of government support, are not officially recognized under Israeli law. As reported by the non-governmental organization Kerem Navot. “Settlers set up new outpost in honor of murdered teens”, Times of Israel, 1 July 2014. Peace Now, “Alarming Developments on the Ground”, 7 July 2014. Kerem Navot reported that the outposts dismantled were Ramat Ha-shlosha and Tekoa E. The remaining outposts are Givat oz Vegaon and Givat Sorek, both in the Southern West Bank. Barak Ravid and Nir Hasson, “Netanyahu orders plans be advanced for 1,060 new East Jerusalem housing units”, Haaretz, 27 October 2014. Nir Hasson, “Jerusalem planners approve construction of 500 settlement homes”, Haaretz, 3 November 2014. Ir Amim, newsletter October 2014. Peace Now, “Settlers Take Over 6 Houses in Silwan”, 30 September 2014. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Humanitarian Bulletin Monthly Report, June – August 2014. 5