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Group Reports ‘Unprecedented Surge’ in Approvals for West Bank Israeli Settler Homes

An Israeli army soldier hangs a wooden beam carrying an Israeli flag banner atop the Ayoub Abdel-Basit al-Tamimi family home, which was allegedly taken over by Israeli settlers overnight, in Hebron city near the Israeli settlement area of Tel Rumeida in the occupied West Bank on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
An Israeli army soldier hangs a wooden beam carrying an Israeli flag banner atop the Ayoub Abdel-Basit al-Tamimi family home, which was allegedly taken over by Israeli settlers overnight, in Hebron city near the Israeli settlement area of Tel Rumeida in the occupied West Bank on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Group Reports ‘Unprecedented Surge’ in Approvals for West Bank Israeli Settler Homes

An Israeli army soldier hangs a wooden beam carrying an Israeli flag banner atop the Ayoub Abdel-Basit al-Tamimi family home, which was allegedly taken over by Israeli settlers overnight, in Hebron city near the Israeli settlement area of Tel Rumeida in the occupied West Bank on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
An Israeli army soldier hangs a wooden beam carrying an Israeli flag banner atop the Ayoub Abdel-Basit al-Tamimi family home, which was allegedly taken over by Israeli settlers overnight, in Hebron city near the Israeli settlement area of Tel Rumeida in the occupied West Bank on March 24, 2025. (AFP)

An Israeli anti-settlement group says there has been an “unprecedented surge” in approvals for new settler homes in the occupied West Bank since US President Donald Trump returned to office.

During his first term, Trump strongly backed Israel’s claims to territories seized in war, at times upending decades of American foreign policy. Previous administrations have admonished Israel over settlement expansion while taking little action to curb it.

The Peace Now group, which closely tracks settlement growth, said Monday that plans for 10,503 housing units in the West Bank have been advanced since the start of the year, compared to just 9,971 in all of 2024. It says another 1,344 homes are set to be approved on Wednesday.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for their future state and view settlement growth as a major obstacle to a two-state solution.

Israel has built well over 100 settlements that are now home to over 500,000 settlers with Israeli citizenship. The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.

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Hemedti Admits Forces Withdrew from Sudan Capital

A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
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Hemedti Admits Forces Withdrew from Sudan Capital

A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)

The head of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces admitted in a speech to fighters on Sunday that the group had withdrawn from the capital but pledged the RSF would return stronger to Khartoum.

"I confirm to you that we have indeed left Khartoum, but... we will return with even stronger determination," Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said in the speech, three days after the group said there would be "no retreat.”

It was Dagalo's first comment since the RSF were pushed back from most parts of Khartoum by the Sudanese army during a devastating war that has lasted two years.

Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, conceded in an audio message on Telegram that his forces left the capital last week as the army consolidated its gains.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF in a video statement on Saturday in which he vowed to crush the group.

"We will neither forgive, nor compromise, nor negotiate," he said, reaffirming the military's commitment to restoring national unity and stability.

Earlier on Saturday, the army said it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, which had previously been used by the RSF to launch attacks during a devastating two-year-old war.

Burhan also said fighters who "repent to the truth" could still be amnestied if they lay down their arms, particularly those who are in rebel-held areas.