Five prefabs sat on the scree, just below a bare hilltop topped by a huge antenna. Behind the rough walls, under bent metal sheets, were clean rooms and kitchens with paved floors, all ready to be lived in. Construction of the Nofei Elhanan outpost began a month ago. Its future residents are set to move in shortly.

The place is named after a dead man – 29-year-old Elhanan Klein, killed on November 2, 2023. He came from Einav, a settlement built on the opposite hill on the western border of the West Bank, which has been occupied by the Israeli army since 1967, in violation of international law. "He left behind three children and a wife. He was a reservist on his way home. A car overtook him and terrorists machine-gunned him. It was a huge blow to the community. We hadn't had an attack for 20 years. It's quiet here," recounted Orel Meneham, in his thirties, wearing fatigues, a helmet and a bulletproof vest. He guards the entrance to his community.

Einav lies not far from the Palestinian town of Tulkarm, where the Israeli army carries out regular raids against local militants. Route 557 passes through a narrow passage between the settlement and the outpost, further tightening Israel's grip on this territory dotted with Palestinian villages.

A resident of the settlement insisted that the prefabs were built legally. "Israel has declared the place public domain dependent on Einav. There is no master plan authorizing construction here," explained Dror Etkes, a researcher for the Israeli organization Kerem Navot. At the entrance to the settlement, a poster pays tribute to the killed settler: "Be good, be happy, be light, be a bit Elhanan. May he rest in peace and may God avenge his blood."

'We're not starting from scratch'

This is not the only outpost built in recent months. The Givat Haktora outpost was established two years ago. It is located on a hillside halfway between the settlements of Shilo and Eli, which between them have a population of 10,000, out of a total of some 500,000 settlers in the West Bank.

Below it is a gas station on Route 60, where two armed Palestinians attacked a restaurant in June, killing four Israelis. Since then, a red sign with the word "vengeance" has stood at the station's exit. The army regularly cleared out Givat Haktora, which, like all the unauthorized outposts dotting the West Bank, was considered illegal even under Israeli law. But since October 7, the administration has let it go and the outpost has expanded. A track now links it to Shilo, in addition to an existing path to Eli.

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