Election pressure drives settlement push as West Bank violence surges

With Israel's October elections approaching, settlement activity in the occupied West Bank has surged to an all-time high, drawing UN warnings and fueling violence. Analysts say hard-right politicians, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are scrambling to entrench settlement before polls, as his Religious Zionist Party risks missing the electoral threshold. Defence Minister Israel Katz boasted of approving 104 illegal settlements and 160 settlement farms since 2022, while Netanyahu faces corruption trial and pressure from the far right.