Land monitoring experts explained that such military communities historically precede permanent civilian occupation.
“The military is only the first phase, which aims to prepare it for future settlement,” said Dror Etkes, founder of Kerem Navot, adding that dozens of West Bank settlements were established this way.
During an on-camera briefing, military leadership framed the territorial control as a major achievement.
“I don’t know how to describe this, other than victory, when you control 65% of the territory, when you have killed over 70,000 terrorists here,” said Maj Gen Tamir Yadai, Deputy Chief of Staff.
The figures appeared to categorize all casualties, including thousands of children and infants, under a single label.
The Palestinian health authorities compiled a database of over 73,000 names, which the Israeli military acknowledged as broadly accurate.
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An official military spokesperson declined to comment on whether internal figures classified women and children as terrorists, stating that a staff assessment on casualty categorization is ongoing.
