Illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank are being funded by organizations closely linked to the country’s government, a BBC investigation showed. Settlements have expanded rapidly in recent years: There are 196 in the occupied territory, with 29 set up in 2023, more than any previous year. The BBC followed one settler, Moshe Sharvit, who apparently evicted several Palestinian families at gunpoint. Sharvit and other settlers signed contracts with two groups backed by the Israeli government, providing them with tens of thousands of dollars. The contracts prohibited them from building on the land, but several outposts have been constructed.