While the international community continues to stipulate that Jewish settlements built on occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law, a group of Israeli settlers have launched a campaign aiming to bring some 5000 settlers to live in the occupied West Bank.

The number of illegal Israeli settlers living on occupied territory in the West Bank is over 200,000 (excluding east Jerusalem). The settlers are traditionally extremists who have been involved in terror attacks against Palestinian civilians. Four settlers are due to stand trial today after attempting to blow up a Palestinian female elementary school.

The settlement activity freeze was the first agreement signed by the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhaq Rabin, but on the contrary, settlements have doubled in number since the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, in an effort to suffocate the Palestinians in their urban territories. These efforts aim to strengthen Israel's settler population in the occupied territories, making it unworkable to reach any just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Israeli peace activist Didi Remez speaking to BBC said: "The settlers are setting up physical obstacles to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state and without such a state there will be no peace and no security for Israel."

Ariel Sharon and his Likud party have traditionally been the main sponsors of illegal Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and they continue to offer a shelter for Jewish extremists, preempting and toppling any chance of making peace or ending the occupation of the Palestinian people.

The international community, including the USA, has criticized the Israeli violations when it comes to settlements but no firm action has been taken against the Jewish state. Israel continues to be treated as a state above international law.