Israeli settlers have set up two new unauthorised outposts in the occupied West Bank, the anti-settlement Peace Now group said on Wednesday.

Hagit Ofran, who monitors settlement activity for Peace Now, said about eight prefabricated homes were placed near the settlement of Tzofim and another five outside the settlement of Talmon.

She said the two new sites were connected to power and water lines serving the nearby settlements, a departure from previous cases in which outposts erected without Israeli government permission have been self-sustaining.

An Israeli Defence Ministry official said demolition orders had been issued against the dozen or so temporary structures at the two locations. He declined to say when they might be removed.

The United Nations deems all Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal. Israel captured the territory in a 1967 war and Palestinians seek to make the West Bank part of a future state that includes the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Palestinians say settlements would deny them a viable country. Israel cites historical and Biblical links to the West Bank and Jerusalem and says the future of settlements should be decided in peace talks.

Some 311,000 Israeli settlers and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT